Formed in 2010 in Toronto (and called Topango for their first few years), by three childhood friends and a frontman they met coming up in the same local music scene, Canadian punks PUP spent just a few years honing their sound across a couple of early EPs, and refining their live show throughout the Toronto DIY scene, before blasting off with 2013 debut LP PUP. Helmed by accomplished producer Dave Schiffman (who the band connected with after cold-contacting and sending him a demo), that first album was met with immediate acclaim by the music press at large, landed on many a year-end list, and helped position PUP as one of the most exciting new acts to emerge from the flourishing, punk revivalist movement of the 2010s, reaching an even wider audience after the band signed with popular U.S. indie label SideOneDummy, which re-released the record stateside in 2014.
International tours, festival appearances, and runs with acts like Modern Baseball would follow, but it was the group’s 2016 sophomore album, The Dream Is Over, that really helped PUP become an even bigger fixture in the punk scene, garnering further critical accolades, courting an even wider audience with more pop sensibility, and showcasing some of the band’s best, most inspired songwriting ever. In the decade since, PUP have remained quite busy and well regarded, continuing to tour and make festival appearances, debuting on late-night television, collaborating with other beloved punk artists, and nabbing prestigious awards like a Juno, all while releasing new music at a steady clip, most recently last year’s fifth album Who Will Look After the Dogs?
While every PUP record in the last 15 years has been killer, and, today, amidst a different punk landscape than in the 2010s, the band feels as fresh and relevant as ever, The Dream Is Over has remained, perhaps, the band’s most defining work, and an enduring fan-favorite. So we’re not surprised, but definitely excited, that the band are currently on the road in support of that sophomore album’s 10th anniversary, a run which ends right here in Nashville- the band’s first Music City outing in four years- Oct. 29 at Eastside Bowl, with an all-Canadian supporting lineup of garage punks NOBRO and power pop outfit PONY! Whether you, like us, caught PUP 10 years ago at The High Watt when this record was new, or you’re just now jumping on as a new fan, this is sure to be a nostalgic, essential, must-see show! Tickets are still available right here while they last, but we’re also giving away a pair of tickets to one lucky fan; preview the lineup and enter below.
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PUP, NOBRO, and PONY will perform Thursday, Oct. 29 at Eastside Bowl. The show is all ages, begins at 7 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.), and tickets are available for $41.40.
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