Eva Walker

The seventh principle of Kwanzaa is Imani meaning faith! One of the simplest but most meaningful gospel songs that existed is “Oh Happy Day.” It’s a short hymn with repeated lines but has a deeper message behind it. In 1968, Edwin Hawkins, a pianist at the Ephesian Church of God, wrote eight songs and compiled them together. Hawkins wrote these singles for his youth choir. They were in need of money for a church trip at that time. Therefore, the only way for them to get the fund is to record an album and sell it. One of the tracks on the album was “Oh Happy Day.” “Oh Happy Day” was first written in the mid-18th century with its tune. Then, during the 19th century, the melody of the hymn was changed, and a chorus was added by Edward Rimbault. When Hawinks rearranged the song, he changed the music and only used Rimbault’s version. bit.ly

Harambee literally means "all pull together" in Swahili, and is also the official motto of Kenya and appears on its coat of arms. -- See the very talented Shaina Shepherd performing live in the KEXP studio in November: www.youtube.com

The Lonely Forest is from Anacortes, Washington. They were streaming live here on KEXP: www.youtube.com

"Acclaimed by KEXP as “one of the most exciting and joyous acts to emerge in recent years,” the band features frontman Tom Eddy’s compelling vocals over an effortlessly deep pocket and energetic melodies from the three-piece Honeynut Horns. " thedip.bandcamp.com The Dip will be playing at The Showbox on Friday March 4. 2022!

New music from Parisalexa! Finishline, a six-track EP on Payday Records.

New Tres Leches! Watch the video for 'Strangest of Friends' shot by Carlos Cruz: www.youtube.com Tres Leches joined KEXP's Eva Walker for a live in studio performance in May of 2019. Check our their performance here: www.youtube.com tresleches.bandcamp.com www.treslechesband.com

New local music! K!mmortal is a musician from Vancouver, BC. The track features a bunch of musicians local to them -- as they say in an earlier interview, "we all know each other from the small, woke, black and brown hip-hop & arts community based here on unceded ancestral Coast Salish territory aka Vancouver." www.hellapinay.com kimmortal.bandcamp.com twitter.com

Go listen to more of the Elliot Smith cover by Laura Veirs here: spoti.fi

The fourth release from Seattle trio La Luz was produced by Adrian Younge, who saw in La Luz a shared vision that transcended genre: “We both create music with the same attitude, and that’s what I love about them. They are never afraid to be risky and their style is captivating. It was an honor to work with them.” laluz.bandcamp.com La Luz will be playing Seattle’s Neptune Theatre on Friday, November 19th!

Grimes' new single is featured in the new season of the massive online video game 'Rocket League'; the title's fitting not just for that setting, but it shares a title with a novel by late sci-fi author Iain Banks -- source of the names for robotic ships used by Elon Musk's SpaceX enterprise. Is the song about Elon?