Hayden Pedigo

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D'Angelo Isaac

Hayden Pedigo between two columns.

Hayden Pedigo

If a character based on Townes Van Zandt starred in a Wes Anderson movie, he would be played by Hayden Pedigo. Then again, the 28-year-old Texan is as original as Anderson and in most ways more authentic than Van Zandt. He’s a charming songwriter, Amarillo politician, model, and avant-garde artist. Musically, he mainlines equal spoonfuls of Ry Cooder and Miles Davis, in a unique fashion. Tickets at haydenpedigo.bpt.me. (Note: This concert is at Arts + Literature Lab at 7 p.m., rather than the Bur Oak at 8 p.m.as stated in this month's print edition.)

media release: Beloved artist, impromptu politician, model and fingerstyle guitarist Hayden Pedigo recently announced his sprawling and cinematic new album The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored, out June 30th via Mexican Summer. Pedigo released lead single “Elsewhere” to early critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR Music and more, and today he shares another new single and video for the album’s spacious title track. Building upon one of the characters featured in the short “Elsewhere” film, “The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored” showcases Pedigo as a DVD guitar instructor. “This might be my favorite song on the record,” says Pedigo. “It has a specific feeling I’ve never felt in any of my songs before. It felt like I had finally created a grand work that I had imagined for years, with this massive sound like Florian Fricke created with Popol Vuh.”

Hayden Pedigo will be touring this Summer, with a few headline dates as well as a support tour with Jenny Lewis.

Hayden Pedigo has lived many lives. He was born in Amarillo, Texas, where he was homeschooled by his truck-stop preacher father. He ran for Amarillo City Council at the age of 25 and came in second place, in what started as satire but soon turned into a serious bid for office, as documented by the Jasmine Stodel documentary Kid Candidate, which premiered at SXSW and was picked up by PBS. He walked Gucci runways and was photographed by the legendary Hedi Slimane. He amassed an Internet following by showcasing his quirky and delightfully multi-faceted personas, as well as an array of ever-more outlandish outfits, with an effortless deadpan wit. He befriended pen-pals and collaborators such as Tim Heidecker, Terry Allen, and Jessica Pratt. And, most importantly, he’s made a name for himself as one of the most prolific young maestros in the instrumental guitar space. 

A kaleidoscopic son of cowboy country sprung from the sky and soil of the Texas panhandle, Pedigo can often be found wearing chain mail or a pinstripe suit or at least ten gallons of hat. But while his many personas provide comic relief, he takes his craft seriously. Case in point: he aimed to create “the best instrumental acoustic guitar album of the past twenty years,” and more than hit his mark.

"The inquisitive melody slows and picks up speed like an old truck bucking along a gravel road — music that shares the same cinematic awe of Popol Vuh crafting a Werner Herzog soundtrack." - NPR Music

"Hayden Pedigo is moving fingerstyle guitar forward into a bright, uncertain future...“Elsewhere” is a five-and-a-half minute emotional roller coaster that sticks closely to its timbral center...but accomplishes more world building with the interplay of these three instruments than most artists could with a full orchestra at their disposal." - The FADER

“Pedigo’s playing style is light, warm, and open, drawing inspiration from a wide variety of fingerpickers and other eccentrics without succumbing to imitation. Occasionally anointed with pedal steel, Pedigo’s songs unwind with pensive ease, maintaining a loose air of mystique" - Pitchfork

"one of the world’s best guitarists" - Paste

"[Pedigo] redefines the term “renaissance person.”" - Stereogum

"[‘Elsewhere’ is] a soothing, gorgeously meditative low-key stunner" - Gorilla vs. Bear