Live on KEXP

Father John MIsty's songs have always been filled with vivid (and often flawed) characters, but he's never been as starkly human as he is on his latest full length, 2017's stunning Pure Comedy. The longtime KEXP favorite's newest LP is a sprawling, sometimes dark opus, but in this stripped down session on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, the artist sometimes known as Josh Tillman is more revealing than he often is in conversation and across four Pure Comedy songs. Recorded 5/24/2017 - 4 songs: Pure Comedy, Total Entertainment Forever, Things It Would've Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution, Ballad of the Dying ManSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loud and proud, Seattle queer punk band waste no time with introductions, blasting out hardcore tales of love, loss, and queer life in Seattle at a hundred miles a minute. Joining DJ Larry Rose in the KEXP Live Room, the Seattle quartet thrash through four songs from their forthcoming debut with equal parts speed and style. Recorded 6/9/2017 - 4 songs: Call Me Tania, Rainbow Crosswalks, Brosexual, SkinnySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The compositions of the Iraqi oud composer and performer Rahim AlHaj do not have lyrics, but the tension, force, and vitality of his songs speak volumes about the power of music in the face of terrible strife. Backed by a string quartet and bassist on Wo' Pop, AlHaj speaks boldly about valuing different cultures and keeping an empathetic, open mind towards them in the face of challenges, both in conversation with Darek Mazzone and through songs from his latest collection, Letters From Iraq.Recorded 3/17/2017 - 3 songs: Letter 5. Going Home, Letter 6. Unspoken Word, Letter 4. The Last Time We Will Fly BirdsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Embodying the sounds and spirit of New Orleans' French Quarter for more than four decades, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is nothing short of an institution of American jazz music. Still touring extensively, the energy of the New Orleans-style jazz compositions is as vibrant as ever, certainly during this performance in KEXP's Gathering Space to a packed room.  Recorded 4/17/2017 - 6 songs: So It Is, Santiago, Convergence, La Malanga, One Hundred Fires, MadSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Louder, Faster, Better, and More Romantic, Cataldo leader Eric Anderson took a few cues from the bliss of his long-term relationship on his new album Keepers, and the LP's rich, buoyant tone both embodies the satisfaction Anderson has in his own life while carrying the torch of Pacific Northwestern indie rock. Returning to the KEXP studios, Anderson joins Sean Nelson on Audioasis for four Keepers tracks with a full band. Recorded 4/8/2017 - 4 songs: Photograph, Person You'd Be Proud Of, Little Heartbeat, Straight Up Western (White Noise)Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“This is my work. This is what I do.” Mitski Miyazaki lays her manifesto out early on in her return trip to the KEXP Live Room with a full band to follow up the solo session she performed shortly after the release of 2016's masterful Puberty 2. A year on the road has only made her sharper, and the results of her touring show in this session with DJ Morgan where Mitski plays three Puberty 2 tunes, an old favorite and discusses the advantages of playing a portable instrument. Recorded 4/8/2017 - 4 songs: I Bet on Losing Dogs, Francis Forever, Your Best American Girl, HappySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Kyiv folk quartet DakhaBrakha created their latest album Шлях (English: The Road) as a tribute to their Motherland, and in this vital session, it's easy to hear the multitude of voices both figurative and literal that make up a stirring snapshot of a people pushing forward during a difficult time in their country's history. The Ukrainian folk outfit return to KEXP's Live Room for a moving set of kinetic songs on Wo' Pop with Darek Mazzone. Recorded 4/23/2017 - 4 songs: Vesna, Carpathian Rap, Monakh, BabySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's impossible to say the name of the Melbourne sextet King Gizzard & Lizard Wizard without conjuring images of fantastical garage fury and on each of their records, the prolific group have only further honed their scuzzy, slashing rock with tones both spacious and slaying. The band with the best name in the world returns to KEXP's live room to play four songs from their new (also well-named) album Flying Microtonal Banana and talk about the pronunciation of the word “banana” with DJ Cheryl Waters. Recorded 4/10/2017 - 4 songs: Doom City, Sleep Drifter, Billabong Valley, Nuclear FusionSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The long-running group Tinariwen hail from Mail, but there's nothing lost in translation with the collective's spiraling, sprawling guitar visions that glide across headphones with as much richness as the languid works of Kurt Vile or Alain Johannes (who also guest on the group's latest album, Elwan.) The desert guitar masters return to the KEXP Live Room for a striking set of tunes from Elwan and an interview between Wo' Pop host Darek Mazzone and bassist Eyadou Ag Leche. Recorded 4/04/2017 - 4 songs: Talyat Girl, Assàwt (The Voice of Tamashek Women), Sastanàqqàm (I Question You), Nànnuflày (Fulfilled)Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Sera Cahoone moved to Seattle, forcing herself to play open mic nights at the (now-defunct venue) OK Hotel  was only the beginning of a career that would lead her to literally play on top of the Space Needle. In her far-closer-to-the-ground return to the KEXP Live Room, Cahoone joins John Richards to talk about her new record From Where I Started, talk about where she literally started, and writing tributes to loved ones passed on. Recorded 3/30/2017 - 4 songs: Better Woman, Ladybug, Up To Me, Time To GiveSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.