The fire of folk music lit up the rainy evening as a small group of patrons gathered in the pub to hear a traveling troubadour.

Folk-punk musician Bryan McPherson performed June 30 at the Forge Pub in Fort Collins as part of an international tour supporting his latest album, “Wedgewood,” which was released June 10 on Bandcamp and iTunes.

“I played in Fort Collins about a year ago at Forge Pub,” McPherson wrote in an email interview to the Collegian. ” It went really well, and I’m stoked to come back.”

In an environment he described as intimate, McPherson performed along with opening acts Caleb James and Louise Distras to a crowd of roughly 15 people.

“I dig these kind of laid back, rainy night shows,” McPherson wrote.

At the show, McPherson played his latest album from front to back to highlight a central theme of fire in the music, he wrote.

“With ‘Wedgewood,’ I was consciously considering how all of the songs would come together to create an album from front to back,” McPherson wrote. “There is a definitive vibe to it that really makes it stand out as a full record (and) not a collection of songs.”

McPherson previously made headlines last October when he was banned from playing a show with the Dropkick Murphys in Anaheim, California, by the Walt Disney Company.

“I got an email from their booking agent about a week before saying he did everything he possibly could to keep me on the bill,” McPherson wrote. “But unfortunately, Disney had listened to my music and did not approve of my ‘anti-police and drug lyrics,’ which is weird because I do not even use drugs.”

Regardless of ideologies, McPherson said he would like people to leave his shows feeling hope and pride in their own lives.

“Waking up in the morning and living in the world (inspires me),” McPherson said. “I write songs. It’s my obligation to share them.”

Collegian Reporter Sean Kennedy can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @seanskenn.