Closing out the KEXP stage on Sunday night, you couldn't have asked for a better send off than Smokey Brights. The Seattle rock outfit wasted no time jumping right into what they do best: blaring killer guitar riffs and belting out infectious melodies that are sure to get people up and moving. This…
"Only 340 more songs to go," said Icelandic soul singer Júníus Meyvant, hiding a sly grin under a thick red beard at the start of his set at the KEXP Gathering Space Stage on Saturday evening. Fans on the concrete floor in front of him, sitting like children arranged around a teacher, chuckled. Tho…
On his latest album, Gotham Fortress, AJ Suede is filled with negative energy. It looms in the boom of his voice, in the foreboding rumbles of Wolftone's spacious beats (as well as cuts from SpaceGhostPurp and Brakebill). He cements the atmosphere of the record early on with the stand out track, we…
Next on the broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was the genre-bending psych-pop/blues/avant-garde band Fai Baba. Based in Zurich, Fai Baba is the solo project of Fabian Sigmund, accompanied by a varied lineup of musicians over the years. Fai Baba began about 10 years ago, after Fabia…
Second on today's broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Australian artist Gordi. Gordi is the stage name of Australian Folktronica artist Sophie Payten, who began playing music while in university, and began to gain traction across Australia after she was featured in prominent radi…
Every Shabazz Palaces record feels like a transmission from a far-off planet. In 2017, the Seattle hip-hop duo took this aesthetic a step further with two records -- Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines. The albums collectively chronicle the story of an alien sent t…
After 10 amazing years at KEXP, DJ El Toro is moving to Tucson, AZ next month. In his final “Music That Matters” podcast, you'll hear some of his favorite new songs, with special emphasis on punk and no wave veterans (Jah Wobble, Alice Bag, James Chance) who continue to innovate and instigate…
Seattle's Earshot Jazz Festival is respected for its massive and adventurous artistic legacy. Now in its 26th year as Seattle's major annual jazz festival, Earshot is known for presenting creative masters and important emerging artists, and for finding fresh synergies between international artists…
We know you're probably hoping to catch your breath, and rest your wallet, after last week's budget-busting list of new releases, but we can't wait for you to hear the killer albums out this week. Topping the list are four albums already in KEXP's heavy rotation, including the anticipated debut LP …
Topping this week's list of new releases is the third album by Chicago band Smith Westerns. While the band's 2011 release, Dye It Blonde, drew tons of comparisons (and a tiny bit of flak) for its fuzzy glam nods to Nuggets-era gems, their new release finds the band aiming for what our Music Directo…
It should be no surprise that several of the artists topping this week's list of new releases were making appearances at SXSW last week, but two of them were also previewing their new songs live on KEXP during our broadcast from Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop. Billy Bragg and Palma Violets both gave mem…
A running podcast featuring Morning Show favorites like Sault, IDLES, Moodymann, and more to remind us that someday we will be amongst our friends, running, for multiple reasons, and a reminder that you are not alone.
In this edition of The Weekly Mix, your overnight princess of darkness, Abbie brings you a mix inspired by a new documentary, Underplayed, directed by Stacey Lee.
Today's Song of the Day, featured as part of our Music Heals: Mental Health programming, is "Times Up (Remix) feat. Junglepussy" by Sampa the Great, a 2020 single on Ninja Tune.
Today's Song of the Day, featured as part of our Music Heals: Mental Health programming, is "Darkness In Mind" by Kassa Overall, from the 2020 album I THINK I'M GOOD on Brownswood Recordings.
This Weekly Mix finds John Richards explaining why he had to burn Mark Lanegan's book and the reason his son Henry, age 8, interrupted the recording.
From the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and Suheir Hammad, to the idea that "Hip Hop Never Died, It Lives In Palestine", this week's mix is a time-traveling exploration of resistance music and global solidarity, with the people of Palestine on our hearts and minds.
…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Larry Rose, host of Larry's Lounge, in honor of Pride, is "It's So Fun (To Be Gay)" by MAN ON MAN, from the 2021 album MAN ON MAN on Polyvinyl.
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Larry Rose, host of Larry's Lounge, in honor of Pride, is "Worry With You" by Sleater-Kinney, from the 2021 album Path of Wellness on Mom + Pop.
It's the latest edition of the Runcast, hosted by John Richards and powered by incredible music and quotes from the likes of Confucius, Dani Rojas from Ted Lasso, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
