How Does KEXP Help You Discover New Music?

KEXP helps you discover new music through four connected channels: written reviews, curated podcasts, charts and playlists, and DJ-hosted shows that span specific genres and listening contexts. If you already know you want editorial guidance rather than algorithmic recommendations, these are the entry points worth using. If you just want background listening, the live stream is the simpler starting point.

New Music Reviews

KEXP publishes written reviews of new releases. The site's current review coverage includes artists such as Dabda, ACTORS, and Boy Harsher. Reviews sit alongside the organization's broader editorial output, which also includes long-form features — for example, the site references a project page for Haight Ashbury.

Use reviews when you want context before you listen: who the artist is, what the record sounds like, and why it's worth your time. This is the slowest but most deliberate discovery path.

Podcasts Built Around Discovery

KEXP's podcast lineup is organized by discovery intent rather than by genre alone. Current episodes listed on the site include:

Two of these show how specific the framing can get. In Our Headphones is explicitly a discovery show — a recent episode features Carl Newman of The New Pornographers explaining why he loves the Australian sextet EXEK. That's a recommendation delivered through a trusted artist's reasoning, not a generic "new releases" list. El Sonido: Cancioneros goes deep on one tradition; a recent episode has Enjambre walking through the songs that shaped their sound. The Runcast pairs music with a use case — host John Richards builds motivating sets (Wild Pink, Metric, Ceremony) and encourages listeners to find their own pace.

Pick by how you want to be led: a fellow listener's enthusiasm (In Our Headphones), a genre deep dive (El Sonido), or music matched to an activity (The Runcast).

Charts and Playlists

KEXP maintains Charts and Playlist sections. Charts are useful if you want to see what the station and its audience are actually playing, rather than what a single editor picked. Playlists let you move from "what's current" to "what was played" without committing to a full show.

A practical loop: scan the Charts for names you don't recognize, then check whether any of those artists have a review or a podcast episode. That cross-reference is where KEXP's editorial layers reinforce each other.

DJs and Shows

Discovery at KEXP is ultimately DJ-driven. The site organizes programming under Shows, Schedule, and DJs, which means recommendations come attached to a person with a point of view and a regular time slot. Genre and mood coverage is broad — Latin music through El Sonido, running music through The Runcast — so the right entry point depends on what you already like and how far you want to stray from it.

If you want a single habit rather than a browsing session, pick one show and follow its archive. The Streaming Archive lets you catch episodes you missed instead of waiting for the next broadcast.

A Workflow That Uses All Four

1. Start with a podcast that matches your taste — In Our Headphones if you want artist-to-artist recommendations.
2. Note the names you don't know, then search the site for a review or a Live on KEXP session.
3. Check the Charts to see whether those artists are part of a wider current trend or a one-off pick.
4. Follow the DJ or show that surfaced them, and use the Streaming Archive to go back through past episodes.

The through-line is that KEXP is listener-powered and nonprofit, which shapes what it recommends: editorial and DJ judgment rather than payola or pure engagement metrics. That's the actual reason to use it for discovery — the recommendations come with a stated point of view you can agree or disagree with, and you can trace them back to a person and a show.