I think I'll defer to Joe Pug for a description of last night's Twangfest at the Duck Room: "Words are just words."

The second night of Twangfest 17 was certainly a hit at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room on Thursday night. Featuring a talent-packed, four-band bill, the annual event hosted by KDHX was in full swing.

With the EP "Nation of Heat," Joe Pug delivered an argument: All you need is a voice, a guitar and a vision to change hearts and minds, to take a willing listener on a journey. "Hymn #101" makes that case and pursues that journey as well as any song could.

Joe Pug channels American acoustic music in a way that few modern musicians can. His songs are at once timeless, spare and intellectual. They weave a tapestry of intricate poetry, completed by Pug's indomitable and spiritual delivery.

Once upon a time, we asked you to "put a bird on it" for some Andrew Bird tickets. And now, with Joe Pug coming through town for Twangfest 17, well ... you can see where we are going with this.

On Thursday night, the Old Rock House and St. Louis welcomed the Flatlanders on the 40th anniversary of their founding.

The musicians of St. Louis don't just love performing; they love seeing others perform. And the year 2012 offered hundreds of opportunities to do just that.

Listening to Joe Pug's records, it's as if he created a haven with a beckoning blend of instruments and adaptive lyrics, and then pressed the record button to share it with us.

October 27 and 28, 2012 on the eve of Superstorm Sandy and in the shadow of the construction at Ground Zero in Manhattan, Joe Pug took the stage at Pace University to thank the man who created his job -- Woody Guthrie.

Twangfest won't arrive until June, but 88.1 KDHX and Twangfest delivered a taste of what's to come with their 13th annual SXSW day parties this past week in Austin.