Boise isn't one of those places where you hop out of bed and say "I think we should go to Boise this weekend!" Actually, I don't think it would have ever been a destination on my list, but then low and behold Treefort Music Festival was born. So many people talked up this fledgling festival last y…
Welcome to another installment of Review Revue in which I wonder how the heck I got through my adolescence without hearing some band or other from the '80s. Today I bring you The Room. Before that moniker referred to a sublimely terrible movie by Tommy Wiseau, it was a short-lived but relatively pr…
Things are picking up! In the world of new releases, that is. 2013 has fully arrived, and as you head back to work, school or whatever your day-to-day, it's time to put record shopping back into your regular routine. The shelves of your favorite record shops are now being lined with anticipated new…
Björk's new "Tinder album" is on its way and we finally have a taste of what it might sound like with lead single "The Gate." The storyline of the song picks up where Vulnicura left off, with Björk healing from the heartbreak of the dissolution of her 13-year relationship. “My healed chest wound/Tr…
The Pacific Northwest and the mid-Atlantic will converge again on Saturday, October 14th at Reykjavik Calling, presented by KEXP. As the musical leg of the Taste of Iceland festival -- which celebrates its 10th anniversary this week -- Reykjavik Calling pulls together some of the most exciting musi…
Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole shines a light on some of the best new music from around the world, including songs from Iceland's Júníus Meyvant and Vök, Sweden's Tallest Man on Earth, Santiago, Chile's The Holydrug Couple, Seattle's The Flavr Blue, and many more hot jams that…
This is The Party Podcast, a podcast that's about a state of mind and a way of being. DJ Sharlese has carefully selected each song for this podcast, featuring real-life party tips from Andrew W.K. and KEXP staff, because she and her friends would like to party with you! Put on your party hat …
Details and a FAQ to the KEXP.ORG redesign.
Dusty Henry takes us back to 1977 when a young DJ from the Bronx, Theodore Livingston, debuted a technique so powerful, so innovative, that it’s become an essential part of hip-hop: scratching.
If you're only aware of one Daniel Johnston album, Hi, How Are You is probably that one album - whether you've heard it, heard of it, or seen its cover image on a t-shirt worn by Kurt Cobain. As far as I can tell this was the first of his cassettes to receive wide release as an LP (five years after…
It's morbid, but you're probably thinking it, too: after losing so many musical icons in 2016 (see here and here), I felt it was important to see Brian Wilson in concert. Now 74 years old, the brilliant but troubled songwriter celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Beach Boys' landmark album Pet So…
Just on the horizon, lurks Mount St. Helens, sitting 100 miles south of Seattle and 50 miles northeast of Portland. It was on May 18th, 1980, at 8:32 AM PT that it resulted in the most destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. Will Mt. St. Helens erupt again? Scientists say ye…
10:15 on a Thursday morning, and today happens to be the birthday of Robert Smith, godfather of goth (even though he hates that term) and legendary frontman of The Cure. It's hard to believe, but The Cure will be here Memorial Day weekend, headlining the 2016 Sasquatch! Music Festival. Throughout h…
It's a holiday week, so for new releases, we get a cornucopia of reissues, remixes, retrospectives, and more. Husband-and-wife duo Shovels & Rope share a surprise covers album that KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes features appearances "ranging from Shakey Graves and JD McPherson to Lucius an…
There are infinite ways in which musicians reveal their talent, and fans need only listen to the first track of Ad Infinitum, the fourth album by Seattle's own Telekinesis, to realize what we now have on our airwaves is a truly stand-out record. Combine several years of early, steady, success with …
Kristian Matsson, better known as The Tallest Man on Earth, doesn’t need much for an introduction. The Swedish born singer-songwriter rocks a style so unique and unmatchable that most who’ve heard him once could recognize his sound anywhere. Blogs often attribute that unmistakable quality to his vo…
As Oli Bayston, a.k.a. Boxed In, says, "Everyone who creates something is a product of their influences" - and he should know. The British record producer certainly has had a wide of array of influences, growing out of his previous work as frontman for the four-piece Manchester rock band Keith and …
This Thursday, KEXP is teaming up with Starbucks and STG for Little Big Show #12 at Neptune Theatre with Cloud Nothings, Tacocat and Chastity Belt! So far, Little Big Show has raised more than $100,000 for non-profits since being conceived in 2012. This time, all ticket sales will go to Teen Tix, w…
I love this record. Barna Howard is my new favorite artist. His previous, acoustic self-titled debut, which I played some last year, only hinted at this Missouri native, now Portland based artist's easy songwriting skills. His latest, Quite A Feelin', is already in the running for my album of the y…
If you weren't one of the lucky few to get into Tuesday's Death Cab for Cutie show, you can now watch videos of the legendary locals performing three new tracks below, via Revolt.tv. The not-so-secret show at The Crocodile sold out in 15 seconds, and was the band's first public performance without…