Lancaster, Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Matt Tarka is gearing up to release his new single “Letter to the Editor” on October 2, 2026. The song takes aim at The Washington Post Editorial Board’s decision to sit out the 2024 presidential endorsement, a move Tarka sees as clashing directly with the paper’s own “Democracy Dies in Darkness” slogan.
Recorded with Jarrett Nicolay at Mixtape Studios in Alexandria, Virginia, the track opens with a bell Nicolay found in the studio and discovered was already in key. That sharp ring gives the song an immediate sense of authority before Tarka begins pulling at the gap between the paper’s decision and its slogan.
The location adds extra weight, with Alexandria sitting close to Washington, DC and the institutions at the centre of Tarka’s frustration. Literary references, a tense rock arrangement and Nicolay’s production keep the track moving as an actual song rather than a political speech.
Since 2011, Tarka has built his catalogue through self-released EPs, working with producers such as Ted Comerford, Mitch Easter and Nicolay along the way. “Letter to the Editor” brings that independent streak into full view, and Tarka will celebrate the release on Friday, October 16, at the Celtic Center of Lancaster in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
