Music

In a music rut? Or want to know what’s hot in the college music world? The KWVA music blog is your solution!

The KWVA music blog is a creative space for all musically curious folks. You’ll find coverage of station and local events, album reviews, interviews with local bands, oh-so-perfectly curated playlists, the weekly charts so you know what’s cutting edge, and more music-related topics.

KWVA Top 30 Chart For The Week Of March 3rd 2015

Additionally, Top 5 Album Adds making their KWVA debut this week! 1. PURITY RING - Another Eternity  2. MATTHEW E. WHITE - Fresh Blood 3. SUMMER CANNIBALS - Show Us Your Mind 4. TUXEDO - Tuxedo  5. OF MONTREAL - Aureate Gloom

Listening Forward

Surprise surprise, it's Monday, again! Now how did that sneak past us? Oh well, the show(s) must go on. Here are a few pick-me-ups to store in your pocket for later this week: Our live sessions just keep on rolling in! This past weekend, we had the honor of having The Hungry Skinny in the KWVA studio to play a live set. On a return trip from their previous appearance at the 2014 Willamette Valley Music Festival, the San Francisco rock n' rollers brought the house down in our studio and at The Black Forest. Check back later this week for a video of their performance at KWVA. Rap superstar J. Cole did something pretty rad in our books. In an effort to show love to the cities that don't always get enough attention from the big guys, he chose to kick off his world tour by doing a 20 city "Hometown" segment… And he decided to start in Eugene! If you were lucky enough to score a ticket, you'll be catching him tonight, March 2nd, at McDonald… Read More

Have a fun weekend!

Hey hey listeners! We hope you had a great week. Here's to an even better weekend: Tonight, the UO Cultural Forum is presenting their Eco Fashion and Art Show! From 8-10 pm in Global Scholars Hall Room 123, enjoy music and food while judging this year's submissions. It's a big weekend in Eugene for The Hungry Skinny! These San Francisco rock n' rollers played at the Willamette Valley Music Festival last spring. Witness their triumphant return at the Black Forest on Saturday, February 28th. Additionally, turn up your radio at 3pm on Sunday to hear an exclusive KWVA live session with the band! Hustle and Drone, electronic synth-pop trio from Portland, Oregon, will be throwing down a dreamy jam-fest at The Barnlight Sunday evening. Fresh off their second album, don't miss the chance to hear it live before the band heads off on their European tour in April! As usual, you can always hear something good if you slide the… Read More

New DJ Spotlight: DJ Space Cadet

This week on the blog, we're featuring new DJ, DJ Space Cadet! Check out what he's all about below.

DJ Space Cadet (far right) featured with his band, Trucks Go Easy.

Name: DJ Space Cadet

Show title and time: Currently unnamed, Thursdays 2-4 am Winter 2015 Genre: Current and old rock n' roll, garage rock, lo-fi Artists he spins: Ty Segall, Velvet Underground, The Sonic, Deer Tick Hometown: Ballard, Washington How he got his start with KWVA: After attending a good amount of basement shows around Eugene, he met a lot of people involved in the radio station. From there, he was inspired to share his music and become a DJ as well. Favorite moment so far: Doing a live ticket giveaway to the Sir Mix-A-Lot show.… Read More

Jessica Pratt Album Review & Kevin Morby Interview

What a week in Eugene for Kevin Morby and Jessica Pratt! On Monday night, they put on an intimate, stunning show at The Barnlight. Pratt's latest album, On Your Own Love Again, hit the top of our KWVA Top 30 Chart this week at #1, and our very own DJ Stegosaurus landed an interview with Morby. Check out KWVA DJ Nathan Steven's review of On Your Own Love Again and the Morby interview below. Jessica Pratt On Your Own Love Again In the time of Bandcamp and Youtube, folk singers are a dime a dozen, so it’s rare to find a singular voice that’s engaging and unique in a sea of Fleet Foxes/Mumford and Son devotees. That fact only increases the excellence of Jessica Pratt’s sophomore album On Your Own Love Again, a pastoral effort that brings to mind an alternate universe where Love and Joni Mitchell teamed up… Read More

KWVA Top 30 Chart For The Week Of February 25th 2015

  Additionally, Top 5 Adds making their KWVA debut this week! 1. DAN DEACON - Gliss Riffer 2. DIAMOND RUGS - Cosmetics 3. THE POP GROUP - Citizen Zombie 4. THEESATISFACTION - EarthEE 5. ROMARE - Projections

Listening Forward

What's up KWVAers? Here's what's in store for you this week: Tonight! The UO Cultural Forum welcomes Kevin Morby and Jessica Pratt to The Barnlight. Morby is the guitarist and songwriter behind bands Woods and The Babies, and both artists have recently released albums that have quickly become favorites on the KWVA circuit. Sponsored by KWVA and Dr. Kombucha, sip on something tasty while vibing to the laid-back singer-songwriter sounds. Doors at 7, music at 7:30. Up-and-coming local band Mellow Yellow stopped by the KWVA studio for a live session this past weekend. Their debut EP, Astrolust, released February 20th, showcases their strong penchant for electro-soul and sweet space-guitar riffs. It's the type of album that will have you in deep contemplation on one track and out of your chair dancing on the next. Check them out below: https://www.youtube.… Read More

Have a fun weekend!

We hope you've had an amazing week enjoying the sunshine, listeners! Here's what we've got for you: KWVA is excited to present our exclusive in-studio performance of Robin Bacior's Water Dreams. Thanks for stopping by the studio, Robin! [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jRQNiIRSQQ[/embed] If you're looking for some good reads, this week DJ Dad did a stellar album review of Father John Misty's latest album I Love You, Honeybear. In depth and thoughtful, you'll really get a strong sense of what's going on in Misty's head. Additionally if you'd like to get to know our DJ's better, be sure to check out our recent profile on DJ Scoops from Super Soul Set. Scroll down the page to find those pieces. This week, our top 5 new albums played on air featured Sonny and The Sunsets, Colleen Green, Jose Gonzalez, Mark Ronson, and Parquet… Read More

DJ Spotlight: DJ Scoops from Super Soul Set

This week on the blog, we're highlighting the funky DJ Scoops and his show Super Soul Set. Scroll down to check out what he's all about. Name: DJ Scoops Show title and time: Super Soul Set, Friday's 3-4 pm Winter 2015 How long he's been with KWVA: 3 years Hometown: Portland, Oregon What he's all about: "Every Friday from 3-4 PM, I host Super Soul Set on KWVA. The majority of the music I spin comes directly from the dusty crates of my vinyl library. There is something so satisfying about being able to hold onto a big, circular plate of wax; when you touch the music you play you feel more connected to it. My goal with my show is too keep the funk alive. Many people don't know it, but funk is a music almost anyone can get down to. I want people to head into their weekends with music that will make them… Read More

DJ Dad's Review of Father John Misty's I Love You, Honeybear

Listened to Father John Misty's new album, I Love You, Honeybear, yet? KWVA's DJ Dad from Family Values has the reason why you should take a good, hard listen below: Josh Tillman wrote a new album about his wife. That would be the end of this review if he hadn't done it with impeccable breadth, style and beauty. But, let's start at the beginning of his solo career. Father John Misty's (FJM) debut album, Fear Fun (2012) was a sincere commitment to the sarcastic. The title itself is enough to illustrate this. A scratchy country croon sings songs of self-deprecating apathy, "Oh-h Pour me another drink / and punch me in the face / you can call me Nancy." An unusual statement made by the guy who also unravels the "Truly staggering amount of all that it takes to make a record." later in said debut. Is he spending all this time… Read More