Congratulations to Searching for Sugar Man for winning Best Documentary Feature at the 85th annual Academy Awards tonight! Directed by Malik Bendjelloul, the musical biopic uncovers the mystery behind the Detroit-based musician Rodriguez and, most interestingly, how he became a legend for decades i…
It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll first topped the UK charts as Orbital. Back then, raves were all the rage, but the duo never settled for mere mind-numbing dance numbers and constantly pushed their listeners with experimental loops and political ran…
Grant Hart, drummer and co-founder of the influential punk trio Hüsker Dü, has passed away at the age of 56. His wife, Brigid McGough, confirmed to NPR that he died Wednesday night at the University of Minnesota Medical Center of complications from liver cancer and hepatitis. On Facebook, his forme…
One of the many reasons KEXP went to Montreal was at the recommendation of our friend Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Operators), so when we had our plan in place to record at Breakglass Studios during the POP Montreal Festival, naturally we asked Dan if he had any local bands that he would recommend th…
We rounded out day two of our Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel with Icelandic punk band Hórmónar. Like many of our favorite Icelandic acts, Hórmónar were the winners of last year’s Músíktilraunir or “Music Experiments,” Iceland’s youth-focused battle of the bands (other winners inclu…
We opened this year’s broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival with a newer Icelandic band, Between Mountains. Hailing from the Westfjords, the promising new duo were this year’s winner of Músíktilraunir, a youth-focused battle of the bands (similar to Seattle’s Sound Off!)…
Perennially nice guy Mac DeMarco has put four test pressings of his 2012 EP Rock and Roll Night Club up for sale via Discogs. Each pressing is unique, featuring different doodles and signatures by DeMarco. And proceeds will go to benefit Waves for Water, a Caribbean hurricane relief initiative. (D…
Ohio alt-country singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield has contributed a holiday song to Amazon's Indie for the Holidays playlist. Taking on the 1966 anti-Christmas Christmas song by Loretta Lynn "To Heck With Ole Santa Claus," Mayfield turns the spirited original into a despondent slow-burner. S…
Originally from Toronto now based in Montreal, musician and photographer Tess Roby is a true talent. At just 24 years old, she has a mature voice reminiscent of Nico, but truly her own. With gorgeous, lush songwriting, Tess on keyboards and vocals accompanied by her brother Eliot Roby on guitar, in…
With more amazing music than ever to choose from, the 7th Annual Big Gay Podcast includes more than 90 minutes of songs by, for, and about the LGBTQ community, from a sinuous electronic groove inspired by Paris Is Burning to a deep cut from ‘70s glitter rocker Smokey. We're also thrilled to includ…
KEXP's Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole provides your soundtrack to the 2014 Sasquatch Music Festival. A nearly two-hour music mix of Sasquatch highlights will get you pumped on your road trip to the Gorge and back. And, if you're not able to attend Sasquatch this year, will be the next best t…
It's been half a year since the last Little Big Show, which feels like a lifetime considering the streak the series has held in the last couple years. As it always has, the Little Big Show brings together Starbucks, STG, and KEXP to benefit a local youth arts organization through tickets sales. It'…
If you're looking for a last-minute Valentine's Day gift for a music lover, look no further than this week's new releases. Brooklyn-based Sudanese multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Sinkane (aka Ahmed Gallab, former Yeasayer/Caribou/Of Montreal sideman) releases his fourth LP. KEXP Music Director Don Y…
To say that fans of Nick Cave have mixed feelings this week is an understatement. Tomorrow, the sixteenth studio album by the much-revered Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds will be released, accompanied by a feature-length film of performance and conversation, shot in both black-and-white and colour, a…
She may be young (she just turned 22 in March), but New York's Frankie Cosmos (real name: Greta Kline) literally has too many albums to count, in that, I tried, and I got tired of counting. With album titles like the landlord LOVES restaurants! (2011) and Collaborative Farting (2011), and song titl…
Out in support of her third album, New View, Eleanor Friedberger stopped by the KEXP studios to share some of the new tracks. This wasn't her first time in studio - she was here back in 2013 in support of Personal Record , but it's clear that three years of grind have sharpened her act. Her albums …
Considering their output (3 albums in 13 months), you won't be surprised to learn that Wand are pals with Ty Segall. The LA trio released their debut, Ganglion Reef, in August last year on Segall’s Drag City imprint, GOD?, which they followed up in March this year with Golem, on Ty's sometime label…
