Joe Pug

Given how deeply Austin-based singer-songwriter Joe Pug (né Joe Pugliese) steeps his music in the traditions of Americana, it’s only appropriate that the mush-mouthed plucker chose a Johnny Appleseed-esque method to spread his soulful folk. Pug offered to mail a two-song sampler CD to fans, free of charge, on the condition that they then pass it in on to a friend. It was a savvy method of inspiring word of mouth—not that word of weary troubadours like Pug travels any other way. In a fragile voice with just the slightest hint of a twang, Pug sings the songs of the next generation of restless Americans on his new LP, The Great Despiser. They may not be mythic figures like Appleseed, but they’re definitely relatable.

Updated 04/11/2012