Texan Country artist Pug Johnson has released the first single from his upcoming album, From a Beaumont Bar. What started as a portrait of, in Johnson’s words, “a guy who’s bumming everyone out at the bar,” turned into a “soliloquy of lowered standards and earnest admissions” called “Lowering The Bar.” The single is accompanied by a video.

From a Beaumont Bar is out October 23rd, 2026, on Break Maiden Records and Thirty Tigers, and with it Johnson set out to “make the kind of heartbreak album he grew up loving.”

He says he wanted to make…

…One that could stand alongside records like Jerry Lee Lewis’ When Two Worlds Collide or Merle Haggard’s Serving 190 Proof.

Every song is about a failed relationship in some capacity, but they’re all different kinds of heartbreak. Some are funny, some are regretful, some are full of hope, and some just hurt. Together, they tell the story of a chapter of my life that I finally felt ready to write about.

The bars in these songs are real places, and a lot of the stories come from things I witnessed, lived through, or carried with me for years. It’s a record about heartbreak, hindsight, and realizing that none of us are as alone in those moments as we think we are. More than anything, I hope people hear these songs the same way I heard the country records I grew up with—that feeling of, ‘I’m not alone, and I’m going to make it through this.’ If this album gives someone that feeling, then I did what I set out to do.

Leading up to the release of his new album, Johnson will be making several special tour stops around his home state of Texas, including Luckenbach, The Lonesome Rose, and Devil’s Backbone Tavern. A list of tour dates can be found below or at pugjohnson.com.

Catch Pug Johnson On Tour:

September 5 – San Antonio, TX – The Lonesome Rose

September 11 – Spring Branch, TX – Bourbon & Branch

September 17 – Conroe, TX – The Table At Madeley

September 19 – Fischer, TX – Devil’s Backbone Tavern

October 18 – Anna, TX – Gar Hole