Recently, Seattle songwriter Shelby Earl, fresh off releasing her new album, Swift Arrows, stopped by KEXP for a live in-studio to play four new tracks off the record. Produced by Seattle folk hero Damien Jurado, Swift Arrows is a mix of piano ballads and guitar rock in the lineage of Seattle songw…
KEXP's always got soul, but this Friday, May 13th, it'll be nothing but, as we celebrate Stevie Wonder's 66th birthday with KEXP Soul Day! Throughout the day, John, Cheryl, and Kevin will be joined by guest DJs like the Emerald City Soul Club, and KEXP DJs Hans, Johnny Horn of Preachin’ the Blues, …
There's nothing queasy about the latest from west coast dream-pop band Craft Spells. It's been almost a year since their sophomore full-length, Nausea, came out on Captured Tracks; since then, songwriter Justin Paul Vallesteros has relocated back to Seattle and overcome a depression that influenced…
Last night, former-Seattleite Father John Misty stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers in support of his sophomore release I Love You, Honeybear. Watch him perform the tracks “True Affection” and “Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Thirsty Crow” below, and keep track of all these late-night musical …
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…
I have a personal mission statement in mind for Jazz Theater. That is, to really celebrate the fact that Jazz Is Alive and Thriving. Now! In recent years, jazz has been cast in an unfortunate historical context -- as something that already happened, and is now over. Or, individual "experts" are too…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by John RIchards, host of The Morning Show on KEXP, is "Everything and Nothing" by The Violent Hearts, a 2021 single on Dinner For Wolves.
White Lung's frontwoman Mish Way is nothing less than a singular, commanding singer, but the ferocious spirit that fuels her performances is empowering, not intimidating. On the band's latest album, Deep Fantasy, Way and guitarist Kenneth William, drummer Anne-Marie Vassiliou, and bassist Hether Fo…
Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time on KEXP, is "(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love" by Split Single, from the 2021 album Amplificado on Inside Outside Records.
Seattle is hot with football fever as the Seattle Seahawks head to Super Bowl XLVIII this Sunday, February 2nd! To show our hometown pride, DJs John Richards, Cheryl Waters, and Kevin Cole will be playing nothing but local music on Friday from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PT. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll re…
For months now, we've been playing tracks from the new Temples album and just saying "out next year." Now, we have an actual date to share! The LP Volcano will be out March 3rd, 2017 via Fat Possum, their first new album since their 2014 debut, Sun Structures. Via a press release, frontman James B…
Julie Byrne makes a face when she doesn't have to sing, one that expresses a sheer contentment with what's going on around her. She leaned back and made this face - which is featured on the cover her sublime sophomore outing, Not Even Happiness - at least six times during her Sunday afternoon set o…
For many years, the mantle of "most consistently stellar artist" seemed to be squarely on the shoulders of Spoon, but there's an argument for it to be moved over, if it hasn't already shifted, to Laura Marling. Six very good-to-great albums that each built on its predecessor will do that, though. I…
"This is the most beautiful festival we've ever played," beamed Bully's Alicia Bognanno. "I mean, I've still got sand in my pedalboard from Hangout, which was cool, but nothing like this." Bognanno's sentiment about playing while facing the Columbia River Gorge is one that's often repeated througho…
"I did want to rip off Yo La Tengo a little bit. I also wanted to rip off The Feelies a little bit," admits singer/guitarist Martin Frawley of Australian band Twerps. But the quirky quartet infuse those influences with their own cheeky charm, resulting in a unique style they jokingly refer to as "j…
Despite being recorded in December, Lavender Diamond's in-studio session was one of the warmest things that KEXP broadcast in 2012. Singer Becky Stark's voice is nothing short of radiant, buoying the Los Angeles quartet's tender, winsome sound. Across the folk pop bounce of "There's A Perfect Love …
A mosh pit of all smiles is a beautiful and wonderful thing. Real mosh pits are great to start with. Not fake circle pits where following the leader dominates any true form of atomic self expression, but a real "I drank a little too much and don't mind being throw around by the couple people who re…
Black Friday is upon us, and nothing makes us happier than the blackest black of a vinyl record! This year's Black Friday is extra special for us, as local label Light In The Attic Records will be opening a store in the KEXP Gathering Space, bringing the exclusive, limited-edition releases right to…
The Prince cover tributes keep coming; the latest is a surprisingly poignant performance of "It’s Gonna Be Lonely" from Mac DeMarco. DeMarco wrote on Instagram, "We lost a true hero of mine the other day. Although it's sad, I'm sure he's ripping a hot solo right now in the next dimension. RIP." Ev…
Twelve years ago, a New York band called Interpol released a song called "NYC". The third track on the band's debut LP Turn on the Bright Lights and the song that makes reference of the album's title within, it's the first of many emotional high points on the record. But more importantly, it's a di…
