Even before he had an instrument to play, Samuel Nelson of Owlbear had been writing his own music.

“I started writing long before I ever picked up a guitar,” said Nelson, a senior from Athens. “I just started writing lyrics, and then I dabbled in drums, and then a few years ago I finally picked up a guitar.”

Since then, he has released two recordings on cassette.

“I released a tape about a year and a half ago, and that was my first release that I just handed out around town. And then I was up north, in New York, and I handed it out there – self-promotion,” he said. “Then I made another cassette . Now I’m starting to work on another release – an album – that would be a digression from the cassettes and would be a CD.”

He describes his music as folk or folk rock.

“I like to call it gospel,” he said, but said that it is “not at all” religious.

For Nelson, writing music comes naturally.

“It’s just there to do,” he said. “The words are there, the songs are there, the guitar is there, so it’s just picking it up and using what’s at my disposal.”

For those curious about Owlbear’s name, it is not a reference to the creature from the Dungeons and Dragons game.

“One time I had an owl almost run me off the road flying toward my windshield, so that kind of inspired it,” Nelson said. “Later on I came to realize that [it was a creature from the game], but I’ve never played Dungeons and Dragons. Maybe I can get some D&D fans to be an Owlbear fan.”

According to Nelson, tonight’s show mostly consists of solo acts. He will be joined by Andrew Graham, who goes by The One Called Ocho. Joe Chalmers, who plays in Animals That Will Kill Your Ass, will be performing, too.

Graham said his songs will be mostly acoustic folk rock.

“I’m going to do three covers – old folk songs – and I’ve got two songs I’ve written myself, and they’re not too hard rocking. It’s all folk rock,” he said.

Graham started playing guitar two years ago, and this will be his first time playing and singing in public.

“I had lots of friends who [played], and my dad plays, so he taught me,” he said. “I’m pretty much just doing it for fun.”

Chalmers is an acoustic musician who describes his music as “colorful, shiny [and] luxurious.” He said he cannot pin down any specific influences.

“I can tell you what CDs are on deck in my car CD player,” he said. “M. Ward, Ween, Of Montreal and Sun Kill Moon.”

Chalmers, a 19-year guitar veteran, has been working on recording and “writing a lot for the solo – what I’ll be doing Tuesday night.”