We've packed the house at Kex Hostel during our broadcasts during Iceland Airwaves over the last few years, but no session was filled with as many fervent Icelandic fans as the performance by Emilíana Torrini. The Iceland native (her father is Italian, if you're wondering about her name) grew up in…
Okay, not "exactly" music news, but it's just been announced that none other than Stephen Colbert will take over for David Letterman as the host of CBS' The Late Show in 2015! Letterman announced his retirement earlier this month with a performance from Joseph Arthur, accompanied by R.E.M.'s Mike …
We were already honored to have legendary musician John Doe of punk pioneers X joining us in the KEXP studio, so you can't imagine our surprise when he walked in with the also-legendary Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. Doe's musical partner Exene Cervenka caught a cold during the Seattle stop for the ba…
"There are so many mountains in the world, but not all of them are on the top 10 list... but if you stand on top of one, you feel like you're on the highest point on earth." This is the concept behind super-duo Minor Alps. Multi-talented musicians Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Juliana Hatfield do j…
Known to many as the band who introduced the “post-dubstep” era, Mount Kimbie have always defied expectation. After meeting at college in London and bonding over a shared love of electronic music, the UK duo of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos explored the spaces around the popular dance music of 2008 …
Back to school, back to work, back to record shopping. This post-Labor Day week, it's time to get off your duffs and get back out into the world. To get you motivated is a handful of fantastic new releases, many of which you'll find getting major spins on the KEXP airwaves. Among them, is the lates…
If you'd been following the prolific career of Bay Area musician Ty Segall, you might have been surprised when he was announced to perform Pickathon earlier this year. But the 26-year-old Bay Area musician, whose discography is as labyrinthine as an 80's record contract, and whose most recent recor…
Today marks the release of Dormarion, the third full-length from Seattle power pop project Telekinesis. The band was in-studio this morning celebrating its released, and a couple of weeks ago they played a bunch of material from the new album for the crowd assembled at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop in…
When we spoke to Ruler's Matt Batey earlier this year, he detailed how he approaches music "looking for a feeling of being lifted up by the experience." With his soaring hooks and insanely catchy riffs, he has a remarkable track record for hitting that mark. It's no wonder that he's become such a s…
On A Deeper Listen, host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
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, selected by Midday S…
No stranger to the KEXP Blog or airwaves, DoNormaal took Sasquatch Music Festival by storm, playing a collaborative set which featured additional performances from close collaborators including Raven Matthews, Taylar Elizza Beth, Guayaba, and Astro King Pheonix. DoNormaal remains a magnetic, distin…
Every year, it seems like the number of music festival in the great Pacific Northwest grows. While it's easy to get cynical about the overlap and general spectator approach to the music, there are diamonds in the rough. Of these, Pickathon, located on the beautiful Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, O…
Portland band Radiation City have come a long way since their cassette-exclusive underground releases, tapes that quickly earned praise for their vintage stylings, pleasant dream-pop explosions over 60's harmonies and sways, synth parts that sound like what people thought 1984 would sound like befo…
Celebrating their fourth LP, A Man Alive, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down stopped by KEXP to throw a little pre-release party. Though the new songs are energetic and completely accessible, as Thao explains to the Midday Show's Cheryl Waters, recording A Man Alive was an incredibly personal, at time…
KEXP is excited to premiere a new video from Superchunk-frontman Mac McCaughan for the track "Box Batteries," off his debut solo full-length Non-Believers, out now on Merge Records. The clip brings you face-to-face with its director, Brooklyn-based performance artist Anya Liftig, whose big blue eye…
Our third live show of the day from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Mammút. This rock band won acclaim with their latest album Komdu til mín svarta systir (Come to Me, My Dark Sister), scoring eight nominations at the 2013 Icelandic Music Awards. Eventually they snagged wins for best album, song…
