Hear it again: The musicians and tastemakers that make the PNW's sound

2022 was a pretty great year for music. Even if your name isn’t Beyoncé or Taylor Swift.

Whether you rediscovered Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running up That Hill” thanks to the TV show "Stranger Things," or kept Latin Trap and reggaetón icon Bad Bunny's album "Un Verano Sin Ti" on rotation, there was so much music — both new and rediscovered — to dig through.

On Soundside, we’ve brought you conversations with the artists and tastemakers that have helped create the Northwest’s sound.

One of them is Nabil Ayers.

For years, Ayers and his business partner Jason Hughes owned and operated Sonic Boom Records in Fremont. The store has a special spot in Northwest indie rock history — Death Cab for Cutie played an in-store performance at Sonic Boom during the launch of their 1998 debut album.

But while he was busy growing his business, Ayers was simultaneously going through a personal journey of his own — trying to reconnect with his biological father, jazz-funk artist Roy Ayers, best known for the song “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”

Nabil Ayers chronicled his childhood, his passion for drumming, and his search for family in his memoir, “My Life in the Sunshine: Searching for my Father and Discovering my Family.” Soundside host Libby Denkmann spoke with Ayers back in June, right before his book was published. He shared a passage about the first interaction he remembers having with his biological father.

You can listen to and read the original story here

2022 also marked a major birthday for one beloved radio station here in Seattle — KEXP 90. 3 FM.

For 50 years, listeners have been tuning in to our sibling station to hear what the uber-cool DJs are spinning. Whether you started listening to KEXP five decades, or five minutes ago, chances are you’ve discovered a new song or band through the station. And that’s by design.

KUOW arts and culture reporter Mike Davis sat down with Larry Mizell Jr., DJ and director of editorial for KEXP, to talk about the station’s place in Seattle’s music history, and its role in shaping the future.

You can listen to and read the original story here

And sometimes, the connection we have with a piece of music or art can help us find the courage to create something of our own.

That was the case when Soundside producer Noel Gasca followed several local musicians as they read Michelle Zauner’s bestselling memoir, "Crying in H Mart." The artists wrote their own original music based on the novel for The Bushwick Book Club Seattle.

Zauner’s story is about her journey to care for her mom at the end of her life, and her exploration of her identity as a Korean-American woman and artist. It was a launching pad for the musicians to explore their own emotions around death, grief, and love.

You can listen to and read the original story here