Sub Pop has snagged the acclaimed young musician Hayden Pedigo with an unorthodox recording contract. Among other things, this union will spawn a number of new albums, one of which Hayden is currently hard at work on.
In celebration of this news, Hayden is sharing the oddly specific details of his contractual agreement, along with tour dates and details of an upcoming NTS Live residency.
First, the agreement:
Hayden Pedigo and Sub Pop are ever so pleased to confirm that these terms were found mutually agreeable, and this agreement is now law.
Hayden Pedigo’s upcoming international live shows for 2026 include a headlining performance on Thursday, March 26th in Brooklyn, NY at St. John’s Lutheran Church, and festival appearances on Saturday, March 28th in Knoxville, TN at Big Ears Festival, and Thursday, April 9th-12th in The Hague, Netherlands at Rewire Festival.
Hayden Pedigo will also host a new, four-month-long residency titled Amarillo Highway With Hayden Pedigo on NTS Live beginning February 25th.
More on Hayden Pedigo… Hayden Pedigo: man, myth, master of disguise; un-picker, finger-picker, absurdist, perfectionist. The unorthodox contender for Amarillo City Council, subject of the film Kid Candidate, and creator of the acclaimed albums for Mexican Summer: Letting Go (2021), The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored (2023), and his latest release, I’ll Be Waving as You Drive Away (2025).
He’s an innovator of the instrumental genre. A challenger of the stereotypical, son of a truck-stop preacher, he backs up a cherry red Silverado under his own smiling, Brylcreemed and Nudie-Suited billboard. His foot hesitates above the gas pedal as a cloud of dust rises. Where between beaming advert and disillusioned entertainer might his truest self lie? I’ll Be Waving…his intentionally maximalist, genre-resistant work of warped instrumental Americana – is an exclamation point at the end of an accidental trilogy of records. The album was selected for “Best Albums of 2025” lists from All Music, Nialler9, No Ripcord, PASTE, and Pitchfork. The latter says of the record in its “Best New Music” review, “On his most majestic and sincere record yet, the Texas guitarist plays with grace and power, evoking the gentle emptiness of the American West.”
2025 also saw the release of In The Earth Again, the well-received collaborative album with Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile, released on the Computer Students label. That album also saw year-end praise from the likes of Beats Per Minute, The Needle Drop, Treble Zine, and Stereogum, who called the album “…the two acts find a cohesive middle ground in this brutally dystopian guitar music, with Pedigo’s fingerpicking contrasting Raygun Busch’s seared vocals. The result almost feels like a southern gothic novel: devastating, vast, yet oddly warm all the same.”
Today, February 17th, Alan Sparhawk is releasing two enthralling new songs, “JCMF” and “No More Darkness.” Both tracks were written, composed, and produced at 20 Below Studio in Duluth, MN, with Nat Harvie mixing. They feature Sparhawk on Guitar/Vocals, Eric Pollard on Drums and Sparhawk’s son, Cyrus Sparhawk, on Bass.
Sparhawk shares about both singles:
“JCMF”: This is a song I’ve had for a few years, but couldn’t find the right way to play or record it. We started playing it last year in the Alan Sparhawk Solo Band, on tour, and with each month, the sentiment of the song only increased. I feel like the song has become a rebuke against the fascist/authoritarian streak that several world leaders have taken on and to the people who have been blinded into supporting them.
“No More Darkness”: Inspired by a David Lynch quote (“Don’t fight the darkness. Don’t even worry about the darkness. Turn on the light and the darkness goes. Turn up the light of pure consciousness. Negativity goes.”) This song reminds me to choose light in especially dark times. We were ending our set with this tune all year, and it is my wish for everyone, especially those who feel alone.
Sub Pop Records is extremely proud to announce the return (for our 20th year!) of the Sub Pop Loser Scholarship. Further details on the scholarship are below, and even further below is some clarification on what we mean with all this “Loser” business.
Sub Pop Records is offering a grand total of $18,000 in college scholarship money to three eligible high school seniors. There are three scholarships—each for $6,000! As longtime, proud losers ourselves, we’re exceedingly happy to be able, in some small way, to help further the education of art-enthused misfits from the NW. Individuals from all cultures and communities are encouraged to apply. Applicants must be residents of Washington, Idaho or Oregon, and graduating seniors on the way to full-time enrollment at an accredited university or college. We are looking for applicants who are involved and/or interested in music and/or creative media and arts in some way. However, you do not need to be pursuing an education in the arts.
To apply: you must submit an essay, one page or less, using any combination of the following questions as a guide (or write something completely your own, be inspired and creative!). Please list the school you are graduating from and the school you plan to attend in the fall at the top of your essay along with your contact information.
- What are you doing in the arts/music field in your community?
- What does being a Sub Pop ‘Loser’ mean to you?
- What are your influences and/or who inspired you to become involved in the arts?
- Describe your biggest failure and explain how it has brought you closer to your goal(s).
- Discuss a special attribute or accomplishment that sets you apart.
- How has your family or community background affected the way you see the world?
- Why should you be the Loser winner?
Applicants are strongly (!) encouraged to send digital links and/or provide hard copies of their artwork, photos of community involvement, radio show links, videos, etc. along with their essay (we have never had a winner who submitted only an essay w/no extras). However, please be aware that Sub Pop will not return any of this material, so please don’t send originals. Sub Pop will give equal opportunity to all applicants who fit the criteria outlined above.
The deadline for applications is Monday, March 16th, 2026.
Please send all submissions and attachments to scholarship@subpop.com by Monday, March 16th. We will announce the scholarship winners during the first week of April.
What we talk about when we talk about “Loser.”
Here at Sub Pop Records, we use the word “loser” a lot. You may have noticed. We’ve printed it on things we sell (hats, shirts, stickers, mugs, and more!), we call the first, colored-vinyl, limited-edition pressings of the records we release the “Loser Edition,” and every year since 2007 ish we’ve awarded tuition money to college-bound NW high school students through the “Sub Pop Loser Scholarship.” And, it’s possible we take for granted that you guys catch our drift and understand what we mean when we’re all “loser this,” and “loser that.” So! The following…
Sub Pop’s use of the word “loser” goes back to the foundation of the label and is meant as a celebration of unabashedly being ourselves without conforming to any preconceived ideas of “normal.” To be a loser is central to the very idea of underground art and culture - all of it happening and thriving outside of the mainstream, and not necessarily looking for a way in. Bruce Pavitt’s “New Pop Manifesto” in the 1st issue of Subterranean Pop included, “The important thing to remember is this: the most intense music, the most original ideas… are coming out of scenes you don’t even know exist… Only by supporting new ideas by local artists, bands, and record labels can the U.S. expect any kind of dynamic social/cultural change…” And, since 2007 or so, with the Loser Scholarship, we’ve been adding students to that list, and putting our (or, our co-founder, big boss and biggest loser ever, Jonathan Poneman’s…) money where our mouth is. Sub Pop Records strives to bring attention to music and art from the fringes that might otherwise remain marginalized. And, in that same spirit, through our annual Loser Scholarship, we’re looking for art-enthused misfits in NW high schools, losers like us, to help them pay for college. We stand proudly with and support the misfits, weirdos and losers, because we believe that when we’re able to proudly be nothing other than our true selves, we have the ability to make the world stronger, smarter and better.
So, good luck, Losers! And, again, please send all submissions and attachments to scholarship@subpop.com by Monday, March 16th.
“This album is potent yet delicate, waterbaby’s voice serene, almost angelic.” - [COVER STORY] NME
On Friday, March 6th, waterbaby will release her debut full-length, Memory Be a Blade, on CD/LP/DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop. The 8-track long player features the songs “Amiss”, “Beck n Call”, and the album’s title track, which The New York Times says, “With its gentle percussion, trembling strings and sweet, cooed harmonies, the song has the intimate, handmade quality of a scrapbook.”
Today, you can hear Memory Be a Blade’s newest offering, the blissful electro-acoustic track, “Clay (feat. ttoh)”, and by watching its official video, directed by waterbaby and Levi Axene.
waterbaby has confirmed new UK & EU headline dates for 2026 in support of Memory Be a Blade. These shows will begin on March 19th in Gothenburg, Sweden, along with dates in Stockholm, London, Paris, and Berlin. Additional live shows to be announced soon. See below for a current list of shows.
Thu. Mar. 19 Gothenburg, SE - Nefertiti Fri. Mar. 20 Lund, SE - Mejeriet Sat. Mar. 21 Linköping, SE - Babettes Sun. Apr. 12 Stockholm, SE - Södra Teatern Wed. Apr. 15 London, UK - The Lower Third Thu. Apr. 16 Paris, FR - Popup! Fri. Apr. 17 Rotterdam, NL - MOMO Sun. Apr. 19 Berlin, DE - Frannz
On waterbaby’s Memory Be a Blade, the Stockholm, Sweden-born singer-songwriter’s first album for Sub Pop, the nostalgia runs deep. Her follow-up to the acclaimed 2023 EP Foam, Memory… is darker, richer, and more personal than ever. She wanted her lyrics to dig deeper and evolve her writing forward, something she accomplishes stunningly across the eight-track project.
To spark inspiration for her new lyrics, waterbaby reflected on a past break-up. She had moved on and was seeing someone new while recording the album. But when the newer relationship ended, she witnessed how much the album took on a new meaning to reflect the heartbreak she hadn’t anticipated experiencing.
“Many of the songs came to mean very different things than what I had thought when writing them in the first place,” waterbaby admits.
In the two years following Foam, waterbaby and her primary collaborator, Marcus White, took their time to get the album right. They wrote and recorded around Stockholm, the south of Sweden, and even Los Angeles. As it took shape, however, waterbaby began to notice how much she would stiffen up behind the microphone. She admits she gets quite shy in the studio, opting for the familiarity of people like White to stay by her side. But in order to take her words and sound deeper, White encouraged her to improvise what she sang instead of writing it out ahead of time.
Her improvisations were paired with compositions that reflected waterbaby’s classical background. White played piano alongside his lush and ethereal arrangements of string and horn parts. Musicians like violinist Oliva Lundberg, cellists Filip Lundberg and Kristina Winiarski, saxophonist Sebastian Mattebo, trombonist Hannes Falk Junestav, and flutist Pelle Westlin round out the dreamy ensemble (read more at Sub Pop).
What people are saying about waterbaby: “An unguarded DIY R&B moment coming out of the Swedish capital.” - The FADER
“A real jewel, a thrilling and evocative slice of future-facing pop” - CLASH
“worth a few hundred plays.” - Loud and Quiet
“the Swedish artist’s knack for instant classics is no accident” - DIY
“waterbaby’s writing feels both fragile and fearless, cementing her status as one of alt-pop’s most quietly devastating new voices.” - Wonderland
“beautiful” - Notion
Memory Be a Blade is now available to preorder on CD/LP/all DSPs from Sub Pop. LPs purchased from megamart.subpop.com, MegaMart Europe in the UK + EU, and your local record store will receive the limited Loser Edition on Cosmic Berry (NA) and Pearl / Arctic (UK/EU) vinyl while supplies last.
waterbaby Memory Be a Blade
Track Listing: 1. Sink 2. Memory Be a Blade 3. Clay 4. Beck n Call 5. Minnie 6. Minnie Too 7. Amiss 8. Srs Ice
Today is Friday, February 6th, 2026, and you can now hear Oklahoma City noise-rock powerhouse Chat Pile’s two new studio tracks: the original titled “Masks,” and the other a burly reimagining of the early Nirvana song “Sifting.” The songs are from the band’s now sold-out, limited-edition 7” Sub Pop single announced late last year.
Physical media collectors don’t fret - you still have a chance to grab the tour-only version pressed on peach vinyl available at Chat Pile’s live shows. There is also a sick new collaborative logo T-shirt that is still available (7” Single and T-shirt, available while supplies last!).
Sub Pop is thrilled that Chat Pile graced us with these two massive songs, and we couldn’t be happier to add them to the list of greats who have released music for the label. The band kindly shared their perspective on this release, so we’ll let them elaborate further:
“It’s a true dream to put out a single on Sub Pop, and our new song ‘Masks’ hopefully honors the spirit of the mythical, sometimes mystical, city of Seattle. Thanks in part to the movie Hype, we have long been obsessed with Seattle, the American underground of the late ‘80s, and Sub Pop and their tools of world domination. Everything we learned about packaging Chat Pile, we learned from Sub Pop co-founders Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt.
“We wanted to cover a song from the early Sub Pop era, and something off Bleach seemed the obvious choice. Songs like ‘Paper Cuts,’ ‘Negative Creep,’ and especially ‘Sifting’ are fairly lateral to the type of sounds we make with Chat Pile. (Perhaps next time we’ll take on a TAD song!)
“To mark the occasion, we’ve also donated $3,000 to DREAM Action OK, a community-based organization that aims to empower our local immigrant community through advocacy and education to ensure justice for all immigrants. Learn more about DAOK here.
Thanks to Sub Pop for giving us the opportunity to put this single out - we hope you enjoy it.
“And most importantly, FUCK ICE!”
Chat Pile On Tour Thu. Aug. 06 - Ancora, PT - Sonic Blast Festival Sat. Aug. 08 - Katowice, PL - OFF Festival Fri. Aug. 14 - Col Du Lein, CH - Palp Festival Sat. Aug. 22 - Bristol, UK - Arctangent Festival
