KEXP Live Performances Podcast

"All the way from Seattle, Tacoma, and the Pacific Northwest,” is how DJ Troy Nelson cleverly introduces Unlikely Friends, the group of PNW musicians featuring members of Math & Physics Club and BOAT whose glimmering, powerful rock outshines the KEXP Live

Losing, Bully's second full-length album, is more ragged and furious than its predecessor, but the heart of the band - Alicia Bognanno's reflective lyrics and fiery howl - remain front and center despite the increase in intensity. Joining Cheryl Waters in

While the sometimes New Pornographer is always steady for a clever pop tune or two on that group's records, Dan Bejar's primary project remains excitingly difficult to pin down. On Destoyer's latest album, ken, Bejar's synth-soaked set of songs is full of

Sharp, booming, and a hell of a lot of fun, 2KFG, Kung Foo Grip's aptly titled second album, is an early 2018 standout for Seattle hip-hop. Joining Stas THEE Boss on Street Sounds, the Seattle group perform four tracks from their Keyboard Kid-produced LP.

Roots musicians Dori Freeman's voice floats with "a certain purity”, to quote Roadhouse host Greg Vandy, that cuts through the noise and grabs the listener. Playing songs from her sophomore record, Letters Never Read, the Virginia songwriter runs through

Ahead of his second album, Full Circle Nightmare, Kyle Craft's swampy storytelling got sharper and it shows all over the Louisiana songwriter's newest record. Melding golden-toned rock with a glammy sneer, Craft and his band join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP

The Spook School's music is certainly political - written from the crucial voice of a trans person's perspective - but its vital message has a razor-sharp catchiness and chiming dynamic that makes the Scottish group's songs soar with a stinging grace. Joi

Michelle Zauner's second album as Japanese Breakfast, 2017's Soft Sounds From Another Planet, may have a space-adjacent angle to many of its songs, but it's all a lens to an intimate, personal LP that cuts to the bone. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Li

The origins of Johnny Goss and Ola Hungerford's latest LP as Cock & Swan, Dream Alone, lie in a live soundtrack the band created for the Nicolas Winding Refn film “Only God Forgives”. Filled the with sleek, stylish, and dark tones of the film, the Seattle

Wolf Parade's return from hiatus in 2016 found the band with renewed energy, plenty of which went into the recording of Cry Cry Cry, their vibrant fourth album. Filled with the spiky, art-damaged energy that runs through their best work, the band perform

The Portland musician Kelli Schaefer channels a trembling thunder on her latest album, No Identity, bursting with power and control with the finesse that only a seasoned songwriter can channel. Schaefer roars into the KEXP Live Room on Audioasis with DJ S

Jen Cloher's self-titled record isn't just her most dynamic, it's likely her most self-reflective as well. Wrapped in these spiraling, sprawling songs is a top-class songwriter expanding her sound with intricate Rust Never Sleeps-esque guitar work. Joinin

After reuniting in 2015 for a series of live dates, Dean Wareham and the other members of Luna gradually worked back into a recording mindset, resulting in an instrumental EP and cover album combo, A Sentimental Education. Joining Kevin Cole in the KEXP L

Dan Auerbach's prolific streak has run for two decades now, but after an eight-year break between solo albums, he gathered a number of top-notch musicians for the sublime Waiting on a Song. Joined by the Easy Eye Sounds Revue and Robert Finley (who sings

The London-via-Seattle duo FKL's crisp electronic sounds channel kinetic energy with silvery tones, not unlike the grey-skied cities that Sage Redman and Joe Gillick hail from. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, the pair discuss the project's in