Live on KEXP

The Michigan outfit Heaters took the “space rock” tags that were put on the band after their debut to heart, naming their sophomore outing, Baptistina, after the asteroid that was once presumed to have ended the dinosaur. Doubling down on the heavier, more gauzy elements of their music for their second album, Heaters expand the KEXP studio a swirling, acid-lined universe in session with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 09/09/2016 - 4 songs: Dali, Elephant Turner, Centennial, Ara PacisSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtney Marie Andrews isn't out of her twenties yet, but she's spent more time on the road than most musicians ever will. Yet the inspiration from her newest album, Honest Life, came from her experience getting off the touring circuit and bartending in a small town, and the results are some of her most affecting songs to date. Courtney joins Greg Vandy in the Roadhouse to discuss the characters that inspired the songs and learning how to live on and off the road. Recorded 09/07/2016 - 4 songs: How Quickly Your Heart Mends, Irene, Table For One, Rookie DreamingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When My Bubba entered the studio for their third LP, this year's Big Bad Good, they didn't have any songs, but the Swedish-Icelandic duo didn't take that as a reason to not craft a new set of tunes on the spot. Joining DJ Morgan in the KEXP Studio, Guðbjörg Tómasdóttir and My Larsdotter share four songs from Big Bad Good and a short history of the perpetually-traveling group. Recorded 07/30/2016 - 4 songs: Big Bad Good, Charm, Carolina / Going Home, Ghost SweatSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Franti will, without hesitation, say that his 20-plus year career was built on one thing: tenacious optimism. And even if you can't see it in the room, Franti's optimism radiates just as brilliantly through the songs of his new album Soul Rocker as anything else in his catalog. Franti, along with his band Spearhead, join Kevin Cole for a semi-acoustic session of songs and emotional stories from both the artist and the host. Recorded 09/02/2016 - 5 songs:Get Myself To Saturday, Good To Be Alive Today, I Got Love For Ya, Crazy For You, My LordSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xenia Rubinos' evocative, electrifying voice is a singular one to say the least, and in her sophomore album, this year's Black Terry Cat, she has a set of songs that have just as broad of a musical spectrum. Painting with a hard-to-categorize set of sounds drawing from R&B to punk, Rubinos' return to KEXP is an engaging and rhythmic gem that vividly captures the musical and social experiences of the Brooklyn songwriter's Afro-Caribbean heritage. Recorded 09/15/2016 - 4 songs: Lonely Lover, Black Stars, Mexican Chef, Don't Wanna BeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of 2016's breakout artists, Margo Price has been hailed as a champion for traditionalist country, but that tag doesn't do her justice. The songs on the Illinois-via-Nashville songwriter's 2016 album Midwest Farmer's Daughter certainly have echoes of her predecessors, but the songwriting is too affecting and the performances too sharp to try and box Price in with the past. Joining Greg Vandy in the KEXP studio, Price isn't afraid to look back, but she's clearly set on moving forward. Recorded 09/04/16 - 5 songs: Tennessee Song, Hands of Time, This Town Gets Around, Four Years of Chances, No ExpectationsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The music of Explosions in the Sky has always lived up to the expectations set by the band's evocative name, and on their seventh studio album, The Wilderness, the Austin, Texas outfit continues to create singular, cathartic, and often breathtaking instrumental compositions. Joining host Troy Nelson during Bumbershoot 2016, the post-rock titans play five of the most expansive and, in every meaning of the word, epic songs that the KEXP studio has seen to date. Recorded 09/03/16 - 5 songs: Wilderness, Infinite Orbit, The Ecstatics, Colors In Space, Disintegration AnxietySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brooklyn band Caveman continues to evolve on their third album, updating the harmonic indie-folk of 2011's CoCo Beware and the expansive space-prog of their 2013 self-titled LP for a larger, more atmospheric, '80s-steeped pop-rock sound. While the concept story behind Otero War is vaguely sci-fi, the songs traverse more human terrain lyrically, focusing on existential topics like relationships and personal satisfaction. Whatever you take from them, there's no doubt that Caveman, in-studio at KEXP, sounds all too real. Recorded August 12, 2016 - 4 songs: Lean On You, Never Going Back, Life Or Just Living, All My LifeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Those Pretty Wrongs frontman Jody Stephens was a key member of the seminal Memphis band Big Star, but while he was behind the drum kit in that outfit, he's front and center on his new project with Luther Russell (The Freewheelers). In this acoustic performance, Stephens and Russell's songwriting takes center stage, riding the line between intimate and expansive with its rich melodiousness. The band performs four songs from their self-titled debut album and discusses the virtues of starting band practice early in the day in this session with DJ Troy Nelson. Recorded 07/09/16 - 4 songs: Ordinary, Lucky Guy, Thrown Away, Never GoodbyeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If Thao and the Get Down Stay Down and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were related and they had a uniquely uncompromising third sibling it would be vocal-and-guitar-wailing Weaves. The Toronto four-piece isn't afraid to push the envelop in an free form, experimental effort to expand their own style of indie rock. Having been a band for two years and just released their self-titled debut album this summer, Weaves have already struck it rich in music scenes around the world with their mercurial song arcs, devious display of offbeat distortions, and playful panache. Watch as they play it up, live in-studio at KEXP with DJ Cheryl Waters. Recorded 08/16/16 - 4 songs: Birds & Bees, Sentence, Hulahoop, One MoreSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.