Joe Pug & Robert Ellis
Joe Pug & Robert Ellis
December 5 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
$37 â $54
Show Description
Joe Pug is a singer-songwriter known for his lyrical acumen and plaintive harmonica style. Since 2008 he has released a string of critically-acclaimed albums and toured heavily in the U.S. and abroad. Paste Magazine wrote of his music: âUnless your surname is Dylan, Waits, Ritter or Prine, you could face-palm yourself to death trying to pen songs half as inspired.”
He has toured with Steve Earle, Levon Helm, The Killers, Justin Townes Earle, Sturgill Simpson, and many others. He has appeared at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and The Newport Folk Festival. His music has appeared on NPRâs âPrairie Home Companionâ and âMountain Stageâ. His music has been released by Lightning Rod Records, which features an alumni roster of Jason Isbell, Billy Joe Shaver, and James McMurtry.
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Robert Ellisâs exquisite new album, Yesterdayâs News, is as stripped-down as it gets, with the celebrated songwriter and producerâs delicate, reedy tenor accompanied only by nylon string guitar, upright bass, and the occasional piece of handheld percussion. The arrangements are harmonically sophisticated here, drawing on the open tunings and intricate fingerpicking of English songwriters like Nick Drake or Richard Thompson, and Ellisâs performances are similarly subtle and nuanced, tapping into the bittersweet longing of Chet Baker and the playful poignancy of Bill Evans and Jim Hall.
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While that might seem surprising coming off 2019âs raucous Texas Piano Man, subverting expectations is nothing new for Ellis. Born and raised outside Houston, he gained early acclaim for his piercing introspection and absorbing narratives, but over the course of five solo albums, he flirted with everything from Paul Simon and John Prine to Elton John and Joni Mitchell in a series of sonic and visual transformations that ran the gamut from Redneck Steely Dan to Lone Star Liberace. NPR hailed his âmusical daring and impeccable songcraft,â while Rolling Stone praised his âsharp eye for storytelling,â and the New York Times lauded his writing as an emotional âgut punch.â
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Yesterdayâs News marks Ellisâs debut LP for Niles City Records, an outgrowth of the famed Niles City Sound studio he and longtime collaborator Josh Block run in Fort Worth, TX.