Fresh Picks

Music

Fresh Picks: Southern rock, Cree neo-soul, no-skip folk, MN country, Anatolian funk and Blondie in '76

Kari Hedlund, Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon, Megan Buffington, Andrew Dziengel, Jennifer Barr

The KAXE Music Team on new music from Duane Betts, LOV, Bella White, Greg Mendez, Molly Brandt, Sosyete '25, Crooked Fingers, and Blondie's debut from '76.

A collage of artwork from new albums and singles. Made up of nine white frames of differing sizes with the largest in the middle, all over a blurry background. In the middle is a grid of purple squares with some sun and moon emblems, the background appears to be the same image but blurry. At each corner of the middle square are four smaller squares. Top left has a photo of a truck to the side of a road, the top right has yellow and orange horizontal stripes that merge with a man's vest of the same colors, bottom left has woman with curly brown hair and a blue dress with her face peeled back to reveal the same image repeating, the bottom right has a painting of a riverboat on water. Then attached to each side of the largest square are four even smaller squares. The top is a woman wearing an orange bandana, the left middle is woman wearing a green dress and holding it away from her leg, the middle right is woman in a white dress standing on a path with green foliage around her, and the bottom is a blue image with a metal fist punching.

Music

Fresh Picks: Desert psych, family roots, Daptone Motown, TX roots rock and riverboat bluegrass in '76

Kari Hedlund, Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon

The KAXE Music Team on new music from Baby Cool, Jalen Ngonda, Bedouine, Ryan Bingham, Ibibio Sound Machine, Mollie Elizabeth, Ruthie Foster, Seun Kuti, and John Hartford in '76.

Artwork for nine albums and singles within white square frames over a grey and blue background.

Music

Fresh Picks: Gritty alt-rock, Gil-Scott reimagined and a Thin Lizzy summer

Kari Hedlund, Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon

The KAXE Music Team on new music from Deer Tick, Brian Jackson, Bebe Stockwell, MADMADMAD and Orquesta Akokán.

A collage of artworks from albums and singles in May of 2026. The background is a blurry photo of face with red lips. The clear version is at the center of the collage.

Music

Fresh Picks: Smoky cabaret, psych-cumbia, comrade country and Parliament in '76

Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon, Kari Hedlund

The KAXE Music Team on new music from Sweet Megg, Mexican Institute of Sound and Meridian Brothers, Telehealth, Nathan Evans Fox, Mina Moore, Caroline Rose and Kara McKee. Plus Parliament in '76.

A group of white frames with artwork for albums and singles in them, all over a blurry blue sky and prairie background. In the top left is a yellow pyramid and two people playin guitar and drums. In the top middle is a blonde woman with red blouse and bandana. The top right is orange with two people surrounded by keyboards. The middle left is a woman with a blue painted face looking at the camera. The middle one has a white billboard with "FACE THE FEELING" in red letters. The middle right one has a yellow man riding a house with a red star on it. The bottom left is a woman with short hair and purple butterfly behind her. The bottom right has a blue tinged man with glasses and curly hair.

Music

Fresh Picks: Adulting, high-energy rap, Latin dance duo and Dolly in '76

Kari Hedlund, Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon

The KAXE Music Team on new music from Jobi Riccio, Genesis Owusu, Aldous Harding, Helado Tropical, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Angine de Poitrine and Brooklyn Funk Essentials. Our Pick from '76 is Dolly Parton's "All I Can Do."

Artwork for seven albums or singles in boxes of different sizes. In the biggest square, placed in the center of the image, is a black and white photo of a man in sunglasses singing into a microphone. There are two of the next biggest square, in the top left one is a black and yellow painting of a panther draped over a guitar, in the bottom right one is a red heart over a black background. In the next biggest square is a drawing of animals over a black background. In the three smallest squares, the top middle has a snowy village, the top right has a woman in a dress laying on her side, and the bottom middle has a painting of people sitting by a gas station.

Music

Fresh Picks: Sweaty soul, MN slowcore, Poet Laureate jazz, Queen in '76

Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon

The KAXE Music Team on new music from Brother Wallace, Willem Dafoe Fan Club, Joy Harjo, Oteil Burbridge & Lamar Williams Jr., Allison Russell, Lone Bellow and '76 Queen.

Music

Fresh Picks: Raw blues return, posthumous 'Scratch' Perry, roots reggae

Kari Hedlund, Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon

New music from The Black Keys, Kacey Musgraves, Mikaela Davis, Lee "Scratch" Perry & Mouse on Mars, White Fence, jeremy messersmith and Satya and a lookback at Burning Spear in '76.

Music

Fresh Picks: Trembling indie-rock, MN roots rocker, Giants (maybe?) return, Nyro smiles in '76

Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon, Heather Johnson, Andrew Dziengel, Jennifer Barr

The KAXE Music Team on new music from Friko, Joyann Parker, They Might Be Giants, Ana Tijoux, Swamp Dogg, and Rosali. Plus the Pick from '76 continues with Laura Nyro.

Artwork for eight albums and singles over a green blurred background.

Music

Fresh Picks: Carnival in Bahia, a junkyard in Duluth, Springsteen synthesized, '76 proto-punk

Kari Hedlund, Malachy Koons, Dan Gannon

The KAXE Music Team highlights new music from Jazz Is Dead, Junkyard Mule, Allison Russell, JJerome87, and Nation of Language. Plus our Pick from '76 is The Modern Lovers debut.

A collage of artwork for the new albums and singles.

Music

Fresh Picks: Community in the club, best of the desert, Tulsa sound of '76

Malachy Koons, Kari Hedlund, Dan Gannon

The KAXE Music Team shares new music from Arlo Parks, Bob Corritore, Joey Quiñones, Goodnight Moonshine, Feeding Leroy and Alabama Shakes. Plus, J.J. Cale's 1976 album Troubadour.