A "rain plan" is practically unknown in the Northwest. It rains here too frequently, but rarely fervently, for anyone to need that kind of contingency. Instead, for us rain plans are active ones, scenarios for doing and being. Maybe that's why Israel Nash's 2014 album, Rain Plans, gripped us so fir…
Seattle's own Duff McKagan is here to help you start the new year off right. The longtime Guns N' Roses guitarist is releasing the book How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions), a collection of his old Seattle Weekly columns. McKagan explains, "It’s a how-to guide of things I’ve learned about life — …
Our first live act of the day at Kex Hostel from Iceland Airwaves is fresh off a plane from Amsterdam. But you'll surely recognize them as Seattle's own garage surf outfit La Luz. We've been spinning this all female quartet's 2013 Hardly Art/Sub Pop album It's Alive and done several in studio sessi…
NO? Why,"yes!". Serendipity gave rise to the band NO; the founding members met each other, by chance, in a Los Angeles diner and began sharing stories of their favorite musicians and disastrous relationships. Like all greats, their music has a melancholy tinge without being too sentimental. NO fron…
Fearlessly dabbling in the gaudy with their electro pop sound, Future Bible Heroes began as a project of The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and DJ Christopher Ewen, but gradually evolved into a substantial group of talented musicians. Eleven years after the release of their sophomore album, Etern…
Today is National Pet Day! While you probably don't need a lot of reminders to appreciate that furried, feathered or finned one in your life, who might right now be curled up beside you, romping around your yard or sitting eagerly waiting for food, today is for remembering all our little friends. P…
The sheer volume of great pop music coming out of the UK can be overwhelming, and that’s only what makes it Stateside. Imagine actually living there, surrounded on all sides by unending legacy and talent. That’s exactly the type of pressure cooker from which London based pop artist Oscar has emerge…
Summing a two-song barrage in the KEXP studio by New Zealand's Salad Boys, DJ Kevin Cole exclaimed that they sound like "the best of The Feelies, Velvet Underground and Yo La Tengo in one song". While they certainly make a lovable racket channeling those and other legendary bands from their hometow…
The otherworldliness of Iceland's landscape is never lost on those who live or travel there. Not just a land of fire and ice, it is also a land of light and dark, starkness and majesty, community and isolation. The only thing that isn't a wonder about Iceland is how artists of all kinds echo its un…
You won't find a more kicked-back band than Nada Surf. Their relaxed demeanor, easy banter and effortless performances make you think they're the kind of guys you just want to hang out with. During their recent acoustic session, live on KEXP from the Bumbershoot Music Lounge, it was like the entire…
"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…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by John Richards, host of the Morning Show on KEXP, is "A Random Act of Kindness" by Kevin Morby, from the 2022 album This is a Photograph on Dead Oceans.
A quick look at the Restorations tour schedule might have your eyes glazing over. After releasing their third studio album (LP3) in only four years at the end of 2014, the Philly indie-rockers have spent most of 2015 tirelessly touring across the U.S., the U.K., and even Jamaica. Or as singer/guita…
Okay, this is going to seem kind of weird. It's late March now - Spring is finally upon us - and here we are presenting Courtney Barnett and her band decked out in costume. There's actually a pretty good reason for it. When the Australian indie sensation stopped by the KEXP studio last Halloween to…
It's another jam-packed week of new releases! Highlights include the latest from London-based artist Adam Bainbridge (aka Kindness). KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the relase "finds him toning down the disco influences of his promising debut album in favor of an often-gorgeous set of ‘80s R&am…
While his previous release, Temple Beautiful, looked backwards, particularly at the storied past of San Francisco, Chuck Prophet's latest, Night Surfer (out today!), looks brazenly forward. But even if the future isn't always bright on this, his 13th album, the songs are characteristically punchy, …
Call it rockabilly, psychobilly, punkabilly... whatever kind of "billy" you want to call it... The Reverend Horton Heat practically sets fire to the stage whenever he performs. After nearly 30 years and 11 albums, the Heat hasn't lost the spark, and still packs the house with fans of all ages and t…
Why is it that with so many intriguing bands, you hear they formed without the intention of playing out, that they were just collaborative efforts for the members themselves? Perhaps it's because when artists make art for themselves, there is a sense of integrity, of personal experimentation and ex…
"We're gonna play 'til they kick us out." Nobunny spoke to the crowd at El Corazon Saturday night, clad in a bunny mask and black briefs with a white poof tail. "Nevermind, they already locked the doors. None of us are getting out alive. This is it. Welcome to Hell, this goes on for your life." If …
