Joe Pug

Joseph Pugliese was performing music from a very young age, but unlike many musicians of his and of future generations, he was not planning to start a career in music before he could legally drive. In fact, Pug was initially more interested in becoming in the theatre, acting in plays and improv comedy nights while in high school before studying to be a playwright at the University of North Carolina. However, playing and listening to music was still a huge part of his life, staying with him the whole time he was at college, and the night before his senior year fall classes were due to start he had the most monumental change of mind of his life. He dropped out of college and on the same night, he began a two-day road trip from his campus in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Chicago, Illinois, where he took a day job as a carpenter, and began writing and performing songs anywhere he was allowed to.

Pug spent the next couple of months writing and performing all over Chicago, and eventually made a friend who worked in a local recording studio. Once Pug had enough material, his friend started sneaking him into the studio when other musicians had cancelled their slots, and by 2009, he’d amassed enough material to release his debut E.P “Nation Of Heat”. Unconventionally, Pug made a habit of sending a two track sampler of songs from “Nation Of Heat” free of charge to anyone who asked, so long as whoever he would send it to would pass it along to a friend of theirs. This strategy worked, and eventually Pug sold over 20’000 copies of his debut E.P without any label backing whatsoever. Thanks to this word-of-mouth success, the 23 year old Pug was hand-picked to open for Steve Earle on a huge summer tour, and once the tour was done, Pug signed his first record deal with Lightning Rod Records.

Pug’s first full length album “Messenger” was released in 2010, and was an immediate critical hit. Ever since then, Pug has released a further two studio albums, and continued to be hailed as a natural successor to the likes of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. For being one of the most fascinating, captivating songwriters of his generation, Joe Pug comes highly recommended.