Artist Joe Pug

Amber Meairs

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Joe Pug

Given how deeply Chicago-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. Having distributed more than 15,000 sampler CDs, Pug took a more conventional route in 2010, releasing his first full-length, Messenger. In a fragile voice with just the slightest hint of a twang, Pug sings the songs of the next generation of restless Americans. They may not be mythic figures like Appleseed, but they’re definitely relatable.

Updated 04/20/2011