Twenty freaking years. That's how long this ridiculous party has been going on in Capitol Hill. Every July, we all march up the hill and pack out the block for a madcap weekend of music and festivities at the Capitol Hill Block Party. $1 Rainiers at Sam's, free snacks everywhere, the Bus trying to …
The 2017 Mercury Prize shortlist was announced today. Nominees include alt-J's Relaxer (who previously won the award in 2012 for An Awesome Wave), Glass Animals' How to Be a Human Being, Sampha's Process, Kate Tempest's Let Them Eat Chaos, and The xx's I See You. The prize celebrates the best Briti…
Over the weekend we got the unfortunate news that Greg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band died at 69. A number of artists have been paying their respects via covers of Allman Brothers Band tracks and Scottish band the Afghan Whigs did just that on Sunday night at a show in Dublin, with the track "M…
Love & Hate, the sophomore release from soulful UK artist Michael Kiwanuka was a fave for many KEXP DJs last year. (It was even a nominee for the prestigious Mercury Award in 2016.) Kiwanuka revisits the release with a video for the track "Cold Little Heart" -- watch below. The video was direc…
The nominees are in for this year's prestigious Mercury Prize, unfortunately now known as the "Hyundai" Mercury Prize. Heavy hitters David Bowie and Radiohead lead the shortlist, alongside Michael Kiwanuka (above), Anohni, Savages, and more. Not only has the name slightly changed, but so has votin…
"Sweep" - that's the command that Parquet Courts give us over and over again on their new single "Dust". In the context of the tune, it's about the dust that accumulates, sitting on everything that doesn't move, marking the time we've spent without motion, watching the wheels go round. The irony of…
Earlier this year, KEXP premiered the title track from David Bowie's 25th studio album ★ (pronounced "Blackstar"). Today, we've got another single to share, "Lazarus," which appears in Bowie’s off-Broadway play of the same name. (Tune in tonight to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert as the cast pe…
Who could forget that impassioned performance from Future Islands on the Late Show with David Letterman last year? (Watch it again here.) Letterman was so wow'ed, he brought the guys back last night where they performed their single "The Chase," just released the other week for Record Store Day. A…
Almost exactly two years after the release of his last album, 2011's Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine's Sam Beam has announced the details of his next album. Entitled Ghost on Ghost, the 12-track effort will be released on April 16th via Nonesuch. Beam said the Brian Deck-produced set moves a…
It's that magical time of year again -- Sufjan Stevens has been releasing and presenting his usual barrage of bizarrely sweet Christmas cheer, and there have been plenty of other excellent holidays-themed releases and performances. For your holiday listening pleasure, we've compiled a list of the b…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afte…
Fleet Foxes are getting back together. The Seattle indie band went on hiatus five years ago after they released their sophomore album, Helplessness Blues. At the time, frontman Robin Pecknold had decided to go back to Columbia University to earn his degree. Now it seems the hiatus is coming to an …
Chromatics have shared "Shadow," their contribution to the Adult Swim Singles series (it's available for free here). The song will also be featured on their upcoming album, Dear Tommy. In a statement, Johnny Jewel described the album as "the most rebellious record I've made." Although the LP does…
The Morning Show with John Richards on KEXP has come to mean a lot of different things to different people over the years. But the overwhelmingly pervasive theme at Neumos on Friday for the revival of John In The Morning At Night was a whole hell of a lot of fun. The room was packed with jubilant K…
With a healthy dose of cool Britannia, Oxford’s Swervedriver take the KEXP audience on a melodic joyride through a collection of new spins from their long awaited comeback release, I Wasn't Born To Lose You. Enhancing their legacy seventeen years after their last LP, Sweredriver are still the multi…
Alt-J's sophomore effort, This Is All Yours, doesn't arrive in stores until September 23rd, but the highly anticipated album is now available for streaming at iTunes Radio. Following the departure of bassist Gwil Sainsbury earlier this year, This Is All Yours is the group's first album as a trio, a…
One snare hit. That's all the notice the audience received that the curtain around the stage was opening and Jack White was beginning the second of his two nights at the Paramount Theatre with "Fell in Love With A Girl". Just under two minutes later, he was playing the unmistakable riff to another …
Bassist Kim Deal has left the Pixies, the band announced today on their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pixiesofficial?rf=106226122747445) page. “We are very proud to have worked with her on and off over the last 25 years,” the statement read. “Despite her decision to move on, we will always con…
2013 is going to be a great year for Seattle music, with so many new bands on the verge of blowing up. Seattle trio Dude York stands out among them with a promising 5-song EP released last June. Though band founders Peter Richards and Andrew Hall are such fans of their male moniker as to label thei…
Songs that make their way into the public domain are curious objects. For the few that make their way into pop culture, like "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" or "Jingle Bells," there are thousands of others that just collect dust and remain out of the public conscious. They're songs from bygone eras.…
