Vikesh Kapoor is chasing the American Dream. Born to immigrant parents in rural Pennsylvania, he traveled cross-country going west, where he started work on his new album, The Ballad Of Willy Robbins, influenced by newspaper headlines, stories of the working class and ideas of loss. It’s nearly impossible not to think of Woody Gutherie, Bob Dylan and, more immediately, artists like the Tallest Man on Earth when hearing him play. Recently, Vikesh Kapoor took a break from his current Portland residence to step into The Roadhouse with Greg Vandy, accompanied only by his unassuming look, his acoustic guitar and his harmonica, to perform melodies reminiscent of dusty American roads and pre-Twitter concert halls. Watch his live in-studio session here:
Full performance:
Drangar: their name translates roughly in English to “pillars of rock”, and it's about as apt a description you'll find for this Icelandic group, whose members — Mugison, Jónas Sigurðsson and Ómar Guðjónsson — are each highly respected musicians with their own projects. Thanks to the chance occurre…
Get ready of an alt-country battle royale when local musicians take on the songs of Uncle Tupelo vs. The Jayhawks on Thursday, January 30th at the Tractor Tavern! Don Slack of KEXP's Swingin' Doors will referee the rockin' ruckus, but really, everyone wins because all proceeds from this event go to…
As we're sure everyone in Seattle knows by now, the Seattle Seahawks are heading to the Super Bowl! Yesterday's halftime show was provided by none other than Macklemore x Ryan Lewis, and while we haven't been able to locate video of the performance (aside from shaky fan-made smartphone videos), yo…
There's strength in numbers, and that's certainly true in the case of Portland mini-orchestra Typhoon, who swept through the KEXP studios last fall in support of their most recent album White Lighter. Ironically recorded in Happy Valley, Oregon, the new album is a chronological musical diary of fro…
Immediately upon hearing Hurray for the Riff Raff, a number of important songstresses whoosh to mind: Dolly Parton, Fiona Apple, First Aid Kit, Jolie Holland and many others. What distinguishes Hurray for the Riff Raff's Alynda Lee Segarra from all these others? Perhaps it’s simply the specific loo…
