That’s why indie artist Joe Pug is keeping prices low for his upcoming club tour beginning in October.
This isn’t Pug’s first attempt at keeping costs low for his fans. Known for mailing free CDs via his website, Pug has been pretty outspoken, not only about the ever-rising cost of concert tickets, but also those other fees that often send the final out-the-door prices into the stratosphere.
“It’s been my honor over the last two years to play support for artists that I admire deeply,” Pug said. “This fall, however, the show is ours. And since we’re at the top of the bill, we make the rules. So let’s start here… tickets will be $10. Traveling the country night after night we’ve seen folks in every city tightening their belts. That you spend a few of those stretched dollars on our shows is heartening. We’d like to show our appreciation.”
In fact, Pug recently described his own experience buying tickets for a concert he wanted to see as a reason for selling his own tickets for a sawbuck each.
“A few months back I bought tickets for a concert – which shall remain nameless – only to get manhandled by service charges and by their Newspeak cousins, ‘convenience fees.’ The actual price was nearly double the face of the ticket. Half of my money was going to the band I loved, the other half to horse thieves.”
Pug said reigning in prices was “notoriously difficult,” but after much negotiating the singer / songwriter will sell some tickets directly through his website. Such as his Oct. 16 gig at Chicago’s Metro.
“The first 50 tickets will be available exclusively at my website with zero fees,” Pug said. The amount charged to your credit card will be exactly 10 bucks per ticket. If all goes well we hope to roll out the no-fee ticketing for entire tours.”
To be sure, a small number of stops might exceed the $10 limit if only because specific shows take place at non-profit venues, like the first gig on the tour – Oct. 8 in Norfolk, Va., at Attucks Theater.
However, there are plenty of $10 opportunities on the routing, including Chapel Hill at Local 506 Oct. 9; Nashville at The Basement Oct. 11 and Louisville at Skull Alley Oct. 13. Other towns on Pug’s $10 tour include Denver, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Fe and Austin before wrapping in Houston at the Mucky Duck Nov. 7.
For more information on Joe Pug and the $10 tour, click here for the artist’s website.