Event
Music at the Museum - An Evening with Joe Pug
If the opening notes on Joe Pugs new LP Windfall are a bit disorienting, his fans wont likely be surprised. The Austin, TX singer songwriter has made a habit of defying expectations so the piano-driven Bright Beginnings and the atmospheric rumination of Great Hosannas are just further indication that hes quite comfortable stepping outside of the guy-with-a-guitar trappings of the genre.
His rise has been as improbable as it has been impressive. After dropping out of college and taking on work as a carpenter in Chicago, he got his musical start by providing CDs for his fans to pass along to their friends. This led to a string of sold out shows and a record deal with Nashville indie Lightning Rod Records (Jason Isbell, Billy Joe Shaver). As he toured behind Messenger (2010) and The Great Despiser (2012) it was with a band that looked as much like a jazz trio as an Americana band. I never quite found a live band that captured what I was aiming for until I connected with Greg [Tuoheyelectric guitar] and Matt [Schuesslerupright bass]. It was an arrangement that maybe didnt make a ton of sense on paper but 10 minutes into the first rehearsal I knew this was going to be my band. The following years would have them on the road for over four hundred shows, including stops at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and The Newport Folk Festival.
When Pug set up camp in Lexington KY in 2014 to record, he did so with some of the best songs he has ever written. The agenda was much simpler than previous albums. The aim on this one was very straightforward. We wanted to capture the music just the way we play it, with minimal production. It was a very back to basics approach because ultimately thats what I love about music, and thats what I love about making music. I wanted to record these songs the way they were written and put them out in the world. The result is a collection of songs that are as close as weve gotten to a road map to Pugs ambitions. He has collected plenty of the requisite Dylan comparisons over his young career but on this record its easier to hear the sway of more contemporary influences like Josh Ritter, Ryan Adams and M.Ward.
The theme of resilience plays a central role throughout Windfall. The weary protagonist in Veteran Fighter wills his way further down the highway despite the gloom that seems certain to overtake him. The Measure, a song inspired in part by Frederic Buechners novel Godric, marvels at every inch of anguish, laid out side by side but ultimately finds that All weve lost is nothing to what weve found. I never really write songs with a specific narrative in mind, Pug explains. When youre sort of pushing through a dark period of your life its probably inevitable that some of that is going to find its way onto the page. But in the same way, by the time we were in the studio the process had become very effortless and joyful. And hopefully you can hear a lot of that on the record as well.
His new album, Windfall, was released March 10, 2015 on Lightning Rod Records in the US.
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LocationTri-Cities Historical Museum (View)
200 Washington Ave
Grand Haven, MI 4917
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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