Photos: Joe Pug Plays a House Show, Makes My Weekend Wonderful

Joe Pug is one of those people who I would like even if their music wasn’t my thing. Thankfully, his is wonderful as well. Seriously – just read his bio page and you’ll feel the same way. The quick and dirty of it is that Joe is another amazing grassroots story. He offered his fans unlimited CD samplers to distribute to their friends (and a bit of a listen before you buy program) and word of mouth paid off. You can continue the tradition by downloading a four song sampler for yourself here.

Joe Pug – Hymn 101

When the beautiful, stunning, flawless, etc. Fuel/Friends announced a house show featuring Mr. Pug, it was a no-brainer that I’d be making the trip to Colorado Springs. This sounds pretty elitist of me, but the more shows I go to, the smaller I want those shows to be. Give me an acoustic guitar in someone’s living room and I’ll be in heaven.

This was my introduction to Strand of Oaks and I was impressed. Timothy Showalter creates a gigantic sound- not in volume, but it stopped the room. His voice is gorgeous- the type I love to close my eyes and just soak in.

I had a smile on my face for the entirety of Joe’s set. It was an incredible experience: I felt warm inside. His music and words have this honest, down-to-earth quality that just cannot be ignored.

Strand of Oaks joined Joe in a cover of Bonnie Prince Billy‘s “It’s A Hard Life”. Joe explained that the van they were traveling in had only a tape player and there was a limited selection of cassettes available, so they’d bonded over some strange music and Bonnie Prince Billy was on the list.

If Joe Pug, Strand of Oaks, or Fuel/Friends put on a show, be there. You won’t regret it.

[See videos for "Disguised As Someone Else" and "Words Are Just Words" on our YouTube channel.]