Spearheaded by recent NYC transplant and longtime Seattle DJ, musician, and writer Andrew Matson alongside Seattle DJ, musician, and designer HansmJustin, FR FR is a low-expectation, low-maintenance monthly rap party currently going down first Saturdays at Speckled + Drake on Capitol Hill. Known f…
Geotic is the alias of Los Angeles' Will Wiesenfeld, a multi-faceted artist that also releases music under the name Baths. His works under the Geotic moniker have often been self-categorized as "passive listening" music, quietly providing a home for his more ambient and meditative creations that fa…
Though they hail from Los Angeles, Dengue Fever are like Cambodian ambassadors to the Pacific Northwest. On their recent return to the KEXP airwaves, the six-piece seemed right at home, even in our new studio. The band's instrumentation is uniquely cinematic, a multicultural modernization of the ps…
On the 20th anniversary of his death, KEXP is celebrating the life of one of Seattle's greatest musicians. On April 5, 1994, Kurt Cobain took his own life but left an indelible legacy for musicians and fans across the world. Throughout the day on Friday, April 4, KEXP DJs are playing a variety of s…
It seemed so daunting when Joseph Arthur first talked about The Ballad of Boogie Christ during an in-studio session two years ago. Back then, he thought it might be a potential rock musical or even a "rock opera" about a man who was either enlightened or insane, and it was either going to be about …
With roots that stretch back to carefree two person jam sessions at Gasworks Park, the well-rounded Seattle septet Hey Marseilles has grown in the last nine years not just in size, but in the power and scope of their songwriting and performance. In this KEXP live in-studio performance they show wh…
While gale winds canceled some early main stage shows, a different force of nature was met with far warmer reception on the Bigfoot stage. Yo La Tengo is certainly a force of nature in the indie music scene and a walk back through their discography is a long one, as the group have consistently rele…
For Plants and Animals, growth can take time. The adventurous Montreal trio took four years to release their fourth album, double the time between each of their previous ones. After years of prolonged touring and rapid recording, the childhood friends Nic Basque, Matthew Woodley, and Warren Spicer …
From a patio overlooking the foothills of the Cascade Mountains near Leavenworth, WA, Seattle musician, Josh Rawlings, prepares himself for a month-long writing session with famed Seattle music producer, Ryan Lewis. Rawlings, who has toured with the golden-voiced Allen Stone and is one-fourth of th…
Amber Mark is a blossoming NYC-based vocalist making waves in the music world with her stunning voice and vibrant sound that blends R&B, pop, soul, dancehall, and various club styles. She just released her impressive debut mini-album 3:33am, recently appeared on stand-out singles by DJDS, Demo …
Dan Bejar is releasing his 12th solo album as Destroyer on October 20 via Merge, ken, and today he shared the lead single, "Sky's Grey," a genial jam that makes the bold claim, “I’ve been workin’ on the new Oliver Twist!” Bejar describes the name for his new album like this, "Sometime last year, I …
Describing My Morning Jacket's live show is almost as difficult as describing their music. While tagging it with a reductive broad stroke isn't that hard ("rock music"), listing out the individual elements that play into the band's style can come off as too disparate to make it their music seem com…
A full bill of local punk rocked Chop Suey Thursday night in a debaucherous whirlwind of moshing bodies. Presented by Sonic Reducer, KEXP's Saturday night punk and hardcore show, the evening was sure to exhibit all the gems Brian Foss brings to any event: great music, great people, and great attitu…
Saturday night in West Seattle, history was made... or remade... when Northwest legends The Sonics performed a special set at Easy Street Records on Record Store Day to benefit KEXP's New Home. The iconic Tacoma band alone were a huge draw to the legion of fans inside and surrounding the store, but…
Seattle super-group Walking Papers played a killer session in the KEXP studio for Audioasis, where they shared three songs off their Mike McCready (of Pearl Jam)-produced self-titled debut from October last year, released on Sunyata Records. Such an assured sound from a band that just released a d…
Something new's going on in Seattle. Well, something new and something old. This city's musical past is already peppered with its fair share of country rock, folk, psychedelic and metal bands, but several up and coming bands are tapping into those genres and styles with renewed vigor. Ballard was a…
A trusted local favorite that's been rocking parties and precisely-crafting renowned mixtapes for over two decades, Seattle's DJ Topspin is well-known for his harmonic ear, deep knowledge, signature blends, and innovative remixes, all characteristics that ultimately yielded his alternative alias, B…
