Congratulations to Mavis Staples, who just won a Grammy last night for Best American Roots Performance. It's great timing as the legendary blues singer will release Livin' On A High Note, on Friday. This, her fourteenth studio album, features songs written by Justin Vernon, M. Ward, Benjamin Booker…
You only have a few days left to enter KEXP’s 2016 Vive Latino flyaway and seize the opportunity to win a free trip to two for this awesome music festival in Mexico City, April 23 and 24. KEXP asked last year’s winner to share a few of her memories from Vive Latino 2015, and here’s her enthusiastic…
How many indie rock dudes does it take to cover a Sharon Van Etten song? By our count, four, as footage has surfaced of a 2010 concert where Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National, and Colin Stetson covered her single "Love More." Watch below. The footage comes from a Mu…
For Christmas, PDX-via-NZ group Unknown Mortal Orchestra gave us the gift of song: stream the track "SB-03" below, written by frontman Ruban Nielson and his brother, Kody Nielson (aka Silicon). The twelve-minute-long track was released on December 25th, following the singles "SB-01" and "SB-02," r…
Well, now I'm depressed. I just did some math, and it turns out that in 1990, when John Doe took a break after having released six albums as a member of the legendary punk rock band X (see here for #6) and released his first solo album - as practically an elder statesman of punk rock - he was 3 yea…
The weather was still shades of gray on Sunday, but overall promised to cooperate a bit more than the deluge of Saturday. The second day of Bumbershoot kicked off with the big, warm country rock sounds of Israel Nash. Nash plays very much in the tradition of Neil Young, and marries swelling rock wi…
Coming off a great Neumos set the night before, Tanlines arrived at the KEXP studio early the next morning to deliver a flawless live performance as a four piece. The addition of a live drummer and second guitarist to the Brooklyn duo's always refreshing version of pop filled out their live sound w…
After a tumultuous four years (in which frontman Zach Condon went through an ugly divorce and was later hospitalized), it's great to see Beirut being silly and having a good time again. Check out the playful video for "No No No" (directed by Brother Willis) below. Will skunks and baguettes be used…
I know, I know, didn't I just post an R.E.M. album a month or so ago? I guess I kinda did. But I have my reasons! First of all, Fables of the Reconstruction was released 30 years ago next week (and checked into KCMU 30 years ago tomorrow, as you can tell by the sticker on the bottom). Happy birthda…
The Hood-to-Hood artist with the shortest commute today was West Seattle's own Michael Lerner, aka Telekinesis. For his stripped-down set from the Junction, Lerner stepped on stage with a guitar and an old-school four track machine, and charmed his neighbors with a short n' sweet set. The set kicke…
If you caught the most recent episode of HBO's Girls, you may have heard the previously unreleased track from St. Vincent. If not, stream the song below. The track is said to be a demo left over from last year's self-titled fourth studio album. Girls music supervisor Manish Raval told Billboard: “…
KEXP faves First Aid Kit have announced the follow-up to their beloved release, 2012's The Lion's Roar. The Swedish folk sisters will release the full-length Stay Gold on June 10th via Columbia Records, produced by Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis. Sample the single "My Silver Lining" below. The gi…
Often touted in 2013 as one of the bands you should know, KINS are quickly becoming one of the bands you do know. The Brighton-based band's well-received debut was several years in the making, starting from the original demos Australian transplant Thomas Savage brought with him from Melbourne, and …
One song from The Clash is hardly ever enough. That's what DJ John Richards admitted to himself last year on this day when one Clash song became two, and then became the rest of The Morning Show on KEXP, and thus International Clash Day was born. And there's no better band to honor worldwide than t…
If you were to define a sub-genre for Julianna Barwick's ambient music, it might be something like "polar pastoralism" as the young church-raised singer and composer evokes both the southern straw dust farmland of her youth and the glacial fields that surrounded the recording of her latest release.…
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…
Apart from their various shows around the U.S. and Europe, we haven't heard much from Texan lo-fi indie rock band The Baptist Generals since their debut Sub Pop album, No Silver/No Gold ten years ago, but the band is back with the highly anticipated Jackleg Devotional to the Heart. The Baptist Gene…
When England's Lucy Rose came in to KEXP's studios, the friendly, unassuming songwriter didn't give much of a hint of the powerhouse performance that was about to come out. When she began singing a set of songs from her 2012 debut, Like I Used To, the Surrey chanteuse released a For Emma-level emot…
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…
Doe Bay Festival co-organizers Artist Home Presents have just announced a new outdoor music festival called Timber!, with 'a vision of uniting music, community, and the beautiful natural environment of the Pacific Northwest." Timber! falls on July 26-27 at King County’s Tolt-MacDonald Park in Carna…
