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.

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

KWVA Top 30 Chart For The Week Of February 17th 2015

  Additionally, Top 5 Adds making their KWVA debut this week! 1. SONNY AND THE SUNSETS - Talent Night At The Ashram 2. COLLEEN GREEN - I Want To Grow Up 3. JOSE GONZALEZ - Vestiges And Claws 4. MARK RONSON - Uptown Special 5. PARQUET COURTS - Live At Third Man Records

Listening Forward

Hey hey! How's it going? We hope you had a kickin' weekend. Here's what's happening around the station and beyond this week: It's here! Robin Bacior's KWVA live session is now available on our Youtube page. Later this week, we'll feature it on the blog and have a write-up about how it went. If you want to hear more of her work, you can check our her latest album, Water Dreams. Need some chicken soup for the soul? Well we can't deliver on the chicken soup part, but we can hook you up with an interview from DJ Scoops from The Super Soul Set. Every Friday from 3-4 pm, he makes it his mission to keep the funk alive through his personal collection of vinyl records. Look forward to this soulful interview on Wednesday. Out on the town: this Wednesday (2/18) at Cozmic, Brooklyn-based Body Language will be playing a lively set. Formed in 2009, their indie-disco tracks quickly gained recognition in the NYC club scene. You can expect… Read More

Have a Great Weekend! Love, KWVA

Love is in the air! It's Valentine's Day Weekend. Whether you're sharing a box of chocolates with your loved ones or sharing an entire of box of chocolates with, well… yourself, no matter what, you'll be feeling the love through music this weekend. Here's what's going on around Eugene and KWVA: It's Friday the 13th, and tonight, 6 bands are willing to test their luck. Ethos Magazine presents their 6th annual Bandest of The Bands at WOW Hall, featuring The Zendeavors, Face for Radio, Mellow Yellow, Human Ottoman, Dr. Rocket, and Yamayama. The 'bandest' of the bands will win a spot at this year's UO Campus Block Party. KWVA will be there with live coverage, so if you prefer to stay indoors on this 'unlucky' Friday, you are more than welcome to tune into 88.1 FM. But if you're feeling brave, doors open at 6 pm! For V-day itself, you've got two options. For the… Read More

Con Brio Interview

Hey listeners! Monday evening, we lucked out by getting an interview with artist Con Brio before they played at Cozmic. DJ Polaris from Right Here, Right Now has got the scoop.