Joe Pug news – A new signing, a new video, and tour dates announced

First off, thanks to Sharyn at No Door Agency for dropping me a line, and keeping me abreast of all the developments in Joe Pug‘s career.

I first covered Joe Pug on this blog back here, with this post: Joe Pug – Nation of Heat. A thoroughly impressive debut …
I was instantly captivated by Joe’s music; it was – quite simply – the most impressive debut I had heard in 2008… and that accolade still stands.

As I mentioned in that post, Joe Pug wants his music to be heard; in fact, he wants you to give his music away. Send in your mailing address, and he’ll send you back some sampler CDs for you to distribute to your friends (along with, I might add, a really appreciative hand-written note). When mine arrived in the post, I spread them around to a few friends… and requests have been coming in fast and furious from people who want to hear more.

So, it was with much happiness that I heard from Sharyn that Joe has now officially signed on with Monterey International (take a look at their roster and you’ll see how impressive this is), and in addition has an upcoming fall tour. And, to top it all off, Joe’s just released the official music video for killer track, “Hymn #101”, directed by Sam Molleur, which I’ve included below. Interesting side-note to go with the video? Joe actually visited a ghost town in California and had to break into a locked-up old tavern to film it. Heh. Dodgy legal issues aside… it’s a cracking video, and hopefully should do wonders for Joe in terms of attracting attention.

Watch it below:

Honestly, I could not be happier for this kid (and yes, he’s younger than me, so I can call him a kid). He’s everything that music should be: poignant, compassionate, intelligent… and he’s a damn nice dude to go with it, who really goes that extra step to foster relationships with his fans.
Just as I voiced in my last post: Let’s help this music be heard. Spread the word, tell a friend. Add your voice to the crowd.

I’ve included Joe’s tour dates below. If I was in the US, I’d be there in a heartbeat. If you can, get there.

Tour Dates

9/10 South Bend, IN  *
9/18 Chicago, IL  Park West >
10/3 Chicago, IL   The Hideout (w/ full band)
10/5 Charleston, WV   Mountain Stage
10/10 Indianapolis, IN   Radio Radio #
10/11 Pittsburgh, PA   Mr. Smalls &
10/12 Westhampton, NY   Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center ^
10/14 Buffalo, NY   Univ. of Buffalo Performing Arts Center ^
10/15 Harrisburg, PA  Whitaker Center^
10/23 New York, NY   CMJ Music Marathon @ Arlene’s Grocery
11/1 Ames, IA   The Maintainance Shop +
11/2 Dubuque, IA   Jansen Music Hall at Clark College+
11/14 Columbia, MO   Bluebird Music and Arts Festival

* with Robert Randolph
> with Kasey Chambers
# with Justin Townes Earle
^ with Susan Tedeschi
& with Railroad Earth
+ with Pieta Brown