Artist

JOE PUG (Opening Night Guest Performer) dropped out of college the day before he was to start his senior year and moved to Chicago where he picked up the guitar he hadn’t played since his teenage years. The songs that he wrote would eventually become the Nation of Heat EP, a self-released gem that has gone on to sell over 20,000 copies. In 2010, he released his full-length debut, Messenger, which met with critical acclaim. In 2011, Pug was lured to Austin, Texas, by its storied songwriting tradition. The first album he wrote there, The Great Despiser, was released in April 2012 on Lightning Rod Records.