The first performance of our Hood to Hood 2013 broadcast is a special collaborative performance by Jon Russell, Damien Jurado, and Tomo Nakayama, all Seattle based singer-songrwriters. So far Jon Russell has played just one show as a solo musician, an acoustic show at Neumos, though he has been pla…
Earlier this week, Fever Ray surprised fans with a new album, the first in eight years for this solo project from Karin Dreijer Andersson, frontwoman for the Swedish duo The Knife. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "an excellent set of adventurous, noise-addled electro-pop combining buzzing sy…
The harsh cold air bites at my hands as I walk toward the Tractor Tavern to see Pedro The Lion play their first Seattle show in 11 years. The harshness of freezing breeze turns my thoughts to Pedro The Lion's "The Longest Winter." "In time memories fade, senses numb," the young David Bazan sings on…
Apricity is an obsolete 17th century term meaning "the warmness of the sun in winter" and Midday Show host Cheryl Waters is here to help you find it. Warm up with new songs by Eleanor Friedberger, The Ocean Blue and Shake Some Action. We don't recommend staring at the sun while you liste…
DJ Kevin Cole (aka Fire) and Online Content Manager Jim Beckmann (aka Ice) preview the 2013 Iceland Airwaves Music Festival with tracks from 18 Icelandic artists including múm, Snorri Helgasson, Retro Stefson, and Moses Hightower. 1. Grísalappalísa - Allt Má (Má Út) 2. Mono Town - Jackie O 3. Oy…
KEXP listeners voted for their top 666 albums of all time in coordination with our Fall donor drive.
For almost two years, Cumulus kept the tracks for their debut album hidden. After beginning their songwriting process in 2011, the group, led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Alexandra Niedzialkowski, slowly but surely put the pieces together while recording in Anacortes, WA, with Phil Elverum. The r…
The Grand Theft Auto video game series has never been a stranger to good music. Old school fans still cling to the 2002 Vice City entry for the precious Wave 103 radio station, where you can listen to Psychedelic Furs, Gary Numan, and Human League while running from the cops down a neon Miami-esque…
On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic, fol…
If Charms’ Facebook and Bandcamp pages are any indication, the Seattle band LOVES candy and chips. Perhaps as a result, the trio play driving rock and roll songs that feel like a sugar rush mixed with a touch of Cool Ranch. Big, boisterous songs come from this group, which has only been together fo…
This Wednesday, November 16th, Brooklyn is stepping out to pay tribute to the Beastie Boys’ 1989 masterpiece Paul’s Boutique, an album that KEXP dissected last year. The event is being organized by the Hip Hop Loves Foundation, a non-profit based in New York with a worldwide reach, and a mission to…
It's surely no coincidence that a couple of these new releases came out on the eve of the 2016 Presidential Election. Veteran Chicago rapper Common shares his 11th full-length, an album KEXP's Music Director Don Yates calls, "a powerful set of politically charged hip hop with gritty, cinematic, sou…
Ask any musician who's made the rather courageous attempt to take their career seriously and they'll tell you how confusing and complicated the music industry is. Especially in 2017, where the rules are changing at a near-constant speed in an effort to keep up with technology. it can be easy to thr…
Word of Chris Cornell's death late Wednesday night was a blow to the music community, but for Seattle it feels even more personal. Cornell was a cornerstone artist for the Northwest. From Soundgarden to Temple of the Dog and Audioslave to his solo work, Cornell helped define the "Seattle sound" wit…
