Hayden Pedigo, acoustic guitarist and soundscape composer hailing from Amarillo, Texas, makes his Kings Place debut.

The son of a truck stop preacher, Hayden spent his teen years woodshedding the American primitive guitar picking styles of John Fahey combined with experimental sound manipulation. By his early 20’s Hayden had already collaborated with luminaries such as Charles Hayward of This Heat, Fred Frith, Werner “Zappi” Diermaier of Faust, and Terry Allen.

Hayden’s sound explorations are defined by his love of the vast Texas Panhandle landscapes and the ambient inspirations that world provides.

This event is suitable for ages 14 and over. It is a very quiet show with numerous long pauses throughout and will last approximately 2-3 hours including an interval. 

Support from Jen Kuross

Idaho-based musician and songwriter Jens Kuross announces his new album, Crooked Songs, out August 29th on Woodsist, and shares the lead single, Beggar’s Nation along with an accompanying live video. Co-produced by Hayden Pedigo, Kuross’ debut for Woodsist is mysterious, warm, and heart-stirring. Using just voice and electric piano, the music is delicately enswathed by ambient synth— minimal without losing sight of his songcraft. Crooked Songs suggests an otherworldly naturalism akin to a ghost returning to earth to observe the passing of time, life, and light.

He’s been hiding in plain sight: an unnoticed career as an LA session musician and songwriter, a carpenter in Idaho. He moved back to Idaho after souring on the LA music scene, believing after so many years that his music was never going to find an audience. After the move, both his management and booking agents dropped him assuming his career was basically finished and he found work as a cabinet maker to pay the bills. The catalyst for Crooked Songs was a basement show where Kuross opened for Hayden Pedigo in Boise.

Reflecting on the show, Pedigo says: “Jens played these beautiful, touching songs that sounded something like Arthur Russell-meets-Harry Nilsson. By the second song, I was in tears. It was the first live performance that ever made me cry. At the end of his set, I told my wife that it was the single best live performance I had ever seen.” Following the show, Pedigo called Kuross and insisted he make an album that resembled the live show—stripped back, weighty, and sincere, as on today’s single, Beggar’s Nation.

Crooked Songs feels like the sound of someone making music for themselves for the first time. Pedigo adds: “I genuinely believe this album represents the music Jens was always meant to create. There’s something incredibly heavy, beautiful, touching, and magical about these crooked songs. I hope you hear that in them, too. I think this album will find people at the exact time they need to hear it. It certainly was that way for me. Jens Kuross has tapped into something people need to hear.”

Kuross will open for Pedigo on an extensive North American tour kicking off in the fall.