It's been a big year for Chicano Batman. The L.A. four-piece released the Freedom is Free, their third album in total and first on big-time indie label ATO Records. They made their first appearance on late night TV, performing on Conan in May, and hit the festival circuit hard, playing top slots at…
Seattle duo The Spider Ferns don't make music, they create worlds. Each of their songs is like a new landscape. You may have heard the sounds before -- drums that seem to echo into infinity, bass lines that throb and pulse like they have lives of their own, electronic sounds that shimmer like a cre…
Thirty minutes. That's all the time Seattle reggae champs Kore Ionz had to win over a crowd at the Mural Amphitheatre on the first afternoon of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Frontman Daniel Pak, shirtless in the hot sun with a red, green, and yellow strap running across his chest (that…
With so many indie rock legends on one stage, you wouldn't be faulted for being a little overwhelmed during Filthy Friends' set at the Mural Stage during Day One of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. The band boasts -- deep breath -- Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, The F…
Portland's Moon Duo made maybe one of their most surprising moves yet: showing up and playing a set as a trio. Alright, that's not totally true. They did play with a third member on the KEXP Stage at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival, but the band is constantly taking surprising new avenues…
Punk trio Dude York has made a name for themselves in Seattle for being a guarantee for at least a half hour of overflowing joy. As "America's Band," they cannot tell a lie and totally followed through on the promise on Day One of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Even when they had techni…
"This is an instrumental about weed," Acapulco Lips bassist Maria-Elena Juarez said pointedly as the band started their set at the KEXP stage. It got giggles at first, but the second they started leaning into their psych-meets-surf jam, the laughter turned into dancing and some serious vibing. It w…
Covered in pink and gold paint, J GRGRY took the Mural Amphitheatre stage in Seattle Center. Under the gaze of the Space Needle with the sun beaming down on the band, it made for an electric opening for the first day of the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. Lead vocalist, Joe Gregory, moved ac…
Review by Clare McGrane, DJ assistant for Wo'Pop on KEXP
In 2018, KEXP celebrated the 30th anniversary of local record label Sub Pop with a four-month retrospective, "counting up" every catalog number in their vast discography of over 1,200 releases. Dig into the archives of our catalog coverage, featuring in-depth coverage on the history of their releases.
