Seattle's Michael Manahan has been a critical figure in the local electronic music community over the past two decades, playing a major role in Starborne Shows/Starborne Sound, Cascadia, and Decibel Festival, as well as through the iconic Seattle nightclub Re-Bar. The driving force behind the new C…
Listening to The Long Ryders for the first time, it's not clear to me that they should have been lumped in with the Paisley Underground bands of the '80s (covered previously in this Rain Parade post). They definitely had '60s influences, but as far as I can tell they were much more a country-rock b…
Capitol Hill Block Party 2015 Sunday brought two things: rain and totally incredible music, and both in plentiful volume. But hey, this is Seattle right? Naturally, everyone has a jacket in their back seat/pocket and nothing about the festival seems to be missed under grey skies. The drop in temper…
One surefire way to break through the gloomy weather of Seattle is with some sunny rock and roll. Lucky for us and all those at our Occidental Stage yesterday, local the Killroom Records power-pop rockers Bread and Butter came to the rescue! The rain that struck Upstream was long-forgotten once the…
Day 2 of Capitol Hill Block Party started with more gray clouds and drizzling rain. But a packed lineup full of variety kept all gloomy feelings at bay. Local band Kinski kicked off the day with a birthday celebration and beat smiths Giraffage and Zoolab upped the energy in the late afternoon befo…
The first of several videos we'd like to share with you this morning is Dinosaur Jr.'s new clip for "Pierce the Morning Rain," a cut from last year's I Bet on Sky. The video stars actor James Urbaniak as a man obsessed with finding the perfect car stereo and comedian Maria Bamford as his concerned …
Deep in the heart of this festival weekend, the brave souls that get out of bed before noon and head out in the pouring rain will be joining us for another spectacular day of Icelandic music at Kex Hostel. Though our live broadcast wrapped yesterday, we'll still be streaming live video for four ban…
Afternoon Show Host Kevin Cole presents 13 unforgettable tracks of the best new music including Supreme Cuts, Wimps, Israel Nash, and Mutual Benefit. 1. Vibragun - Dirty Thing 2. Cheatahs - Leave To Remain 3. Solids - Traces 4. Israel Nash - Rain Plans 5. Samantha Crain - Somewhere All the Time 6…
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 DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Mid…
Cheryl Waters' latest mix isn't just betwixt the Shire, it gathers music from the Arabian peaks of Afghan Whigs, the icy glimmer of Sóley, and the galaxy-roaming sounds of Shabazz Palaces. 1. Sóley – Sing Wood To Silence 2. Low Roar – Give Me An Answer 3. The Black Angels – Currency 4. The Afgha…
If I were a better blogger, I would have gone into KEXP armed with the Bumbershoot lineup and found an album from one of the many fine bands playing at this weekend's festival (Negativland, say, or maybe Jonathan Richman) so as to bring you a remotely topical post for this week. Instead of that, I …
Playing while it's raining at a festival is always a gamble. Lots of people who would have otherwise wandered over out of curiosity are hiding out in every covered nook and cranny imaginable, so it was only the diehards waiting in the drizzle for The Julie Ruin's mid-afternoon set. But, to be hones…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by John Richards, host of the Morning Show on KEXP, is "In the Rain" by ODESZA, a 2023 single on Foreign Family Collective.
Just about the last thing we'd ever ask for in Seattle is "more rain" - unless of course that's the name of the latest album by M. Ward. On his eight studio LP, the Portland based musician doesn't let the Pacific Northwest's soggy gloom get him down, and dares the clouds away with his initially doo…
Monday afternoon may not be the ideal time for a loud, full-force rock show, but it is, however, the perfect setting for a set of winding, country-colored jams, which is what the audience received when Israel Nash and his band took the stage. The Dripping Springs, Texas musician's lush, almos…
Two strong reissues came out this past Friday, one being the expanded 20th anniversary edition of Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer, featuring three previously unreleased tracks. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "while not classic Radiohead, they're all fine examples of the band's brooding pro…
Swedish artist Lykke Li shares a video as dark and lonely as the track itself: watch the clip for "Never Gonna Love Again" below, from last year's I Never Learn. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she explains, "Loneliness and heartbreak follow you everywhere and they are loudest right after the …
Saturday has turned out to be a spectacularly sunny day at the Gorge - not a rain cloud all day long! The line up Saturday of Sasquatch was absolutely stacked (as are the other 2 days, of course). But Saturday was chalk full of bands that lots of different people were excited about, bands from Seat…
After 17 years of existence, The Helio Sequence could easily kick back in comfort as a fixture in the Pacific Northwest music scene with their successful signature indie-rock sound. Instead, the duo has been ushered into a new, full-grown style on their fifth full-length album, 2012's Negotiations,…
Variety host Mel Trejo is your DJ for the 2013 CMJ Preview edition of KEXP's Music That Matters podcast. The mix highlights artists participating in this year's CMJ Music Marathon taking place in New York beginning Tuesday, October 15th, through Saturday, October 19th. The playlist includes choice…
