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Will Hoge fans now have a chance to get their tickets before they go onsale to the general public. Will Hoge Advantage Tickets allow fans to make sure they don’t miss out on seeing their favorite artists when they comes to town! You can click the link below to buy once the pre-sale has begun or head over to facebook and click the Pre-Sale tab.

Our first sale will be:
On Sale: August 8th, 2012 at 10:00 AM Venue Time
Chicago, IL @ Joe’s Bar

Greetings fine folks. So today we begin our drive across half the country to start the east coast leg of the ‘When I Get My Wings’ tour. About 9 hours from now we will all be wishing we actually HAD wings and could go ahead and be there. Philly also begins our 12 shows in 12 days yee-haw-good-times-drive-sing section of the tour. Hope you’ll join us.

This past week may go down as one of the best touring weeks we’ve ever had. We started in Indianapolis on a Tuesday night and it was GREAT!  Radio Radio was packed and those folks were ready to go right from the start. Really pleasant surprise that early in the week. Then we hit Madison WI at the Majestic which is a room that we all really love playing. The weather was cold and crappy but the folks inside made it really cozy for us. Afterwards we drove to Yogi’s folks house outside of Chicago. It worked out great being at his folks, playing a gig in his hometown for his birthday. Ma and Pa Ollendorff rolled out the red carpet for us. Thor and trailer even fit in the driveway.  The staff at the Double Door were and always are so accomodating. We had a birthday pizza party for Yogi with a bunch of his family.  Plus Siggi’s family came and brought homemade meatballs AND my brother and his band were with us so it really was a big family affair. Really good day. Fortunately the night was every bit as good. The crowd in Chicago was just electric!  Y’all sang along to EVERY song. LOUD!!  It was just an incredibly fun show.  Then we loaded up and headed to St Louis. We had trailer trouble on the way and were going to have to dump our gear and then go run around and find tools and supplies to fix it. But thanks to what I’d like to think is the good rock n roll karma we’ve built up, lo and behold, the venue had all the tools and parts we needed for me to fix the trailer there!!  Haha. Who knew that Off Broadway in St Louis is a killer rock venue AND a mini Home Depot. So that definitely set the evening off in a good direction. There’s always a bit of concern on the road following a show like the one in Chicago. You sometimes feel the ‘let down’ a bit after nights like that. Well, St Louis was anything but a let down. It was the best show we’ve had there. Another crowd full of folks singing along and rocking to every song. We also learned that St Louis doesn’t love Chicago. Good to know. And it seems we may be creating a little National League Rock n Roll Rivalry to see which of those two cities may win the trophy for best Will Hoge Mid West Rock Town. It’s nice to say that this one could be close!  Damn. At least for me and the guys it’s a win-win.

We then spent our day off in St Louis. We drove a bit out of town to Troy MO to visit our pals at the Ink Spot. Which is a killer little tattoo shop. They shut the joint down for us, fired up the grills and made a massive spread for us. My brothers band all came too. We had a great day. Told lots of stories. Had a bunch of laughs. Had 3 folks loose their tattoo virginity. One of them to Raphael(the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle). Haha. Also spent $100 on ‘the dead snake challenge’. Which I’m excited to see when that gets reported on year end taxes. Here’s our tattoos from the day. You pick which ones go with which band member:

Did the rarely seen Sunday night rock n roll show in Kansas City. Never headlined in Kansas City so we didn’t know what to expect. We showed up to Knuckleheads and I’m pretty sure Patrick Swayze used to be a bouncer there. It was straight out of the movie Road House. Wasn’t sure about it. It turned out being really cool. All the folks there were super nice and easy to work with. They took super fine care of us. Had a nice crowd show up and had a bunch of fun playing. Hope we can make it back there soon.

It was alot of fun having my brother open these few shows. Thanks to him and his band for doing it. Thanks to y’all for coming out early and supporting him. If you missed it he will be opening our hometown show in Nashville on Saturday Nov 26th at 3rd and Lindsley. Cmon down.

Lots of cool things brewing behind the scenes. We can’t tell you more about those yet, but we will do it in another update soon. I hope we will see alot of y’all on the east coast later in the week. Spread the word and come see us. Thanks as always for the love and support. See y’all soon.

So we’ve wrapped up the Favorite Waste Of Time Tour. It started in Nashville and that was a helluva good time. All the guest musicians were a real pleasure and it made for a killer night for me and the guys onstage. Off stage was great too. We all had lots of family and friends there. I saw people I’d not seen in 20 years. Folks brought their kids whom I’d not seen since they were babies and now they’re teenagers at a rock n roll show. It truly was a blast and the perfect kick off for a tour. We ended it last week in Greenville SC and it was an equally great bookend to the tour. The Handlebar is always fantastic. The crowd so so receptive. In between we did a bunch more shows. Some highlights were definitely Akron at the Tangiers. Always one of our favorite joints. Played for the first time at Lincoln Hall in Chicago and LOVED that room. It was a Sunday and the Chicago marathon, but it turned out ok anyway. You may have heard rumors of me falling onstage that night and I’d like to say, yes, I busted my ass! Twas the worlds slowest fall (we clocked it). But we rocked through it nonetheless. And yes there are photos.

The new Living Room Sessions ep is now available and we’ve been getting good feedback from folks that’ve heard it so that’s good. It was a fun little project for us and we are glad y’all are diggin it.

The Favorite Waste Of Time video is making it’s rounds too. Along with the contest(see the below link for details). We’ve gotten some great submissions thus far and can’t wait to see more. Could be difficult to choose just one. Please continue to spread the word or hell, just spread the video itself.

Did a long ass rehearsal with the guys today. Preparing for the Shinedown tour that begins next week in Tampa. Getting acoustic versions of stuff together was both more challenging and more rewarding than any of us thought. Really looking forward to these shows. It’s a different mix for us musically in some ways and we are all really excited for the challenge of being in front of such a large and virgin(musically of course) audience for us each night. From all we’ve seen their fans seem incredibly passionate about music and we’ve already seen a few folks turning up at our shows just from hearing about the upcoming tour. And I’ve gotta say I’m very impressed by how dedicated the Shinedown guys are to their fans. Having been around them a few times already it so evident that they want to give them all something special to close out the year and me and the fellas are flattered to get to be a part of it.

So now it’s back to laundry and Thor repairs before the big drive to Tampa. Also if any of you are looking to get me an early holiday gift I’m gladly accepting drivers for Thor for the tour. As always thanks for listening and keep on spreading the word. See y’all soon.

So the NEEDTOBREATHE tour wrapped up with, well, kind of a thud? Haha. The tour was wonderful. Every show was great. I hadn’t done a run of straight up opening shows in a long long time and it couldn’t have gone better. I’ve known those fellas for many years and am continually proud of what they’re doing live and on record. Such great guys on and off stage. The only bummer was the last show(thus the ‘thud’ comment earlier). Birmingham at Sloss Furnace had to be rescheduled due to weather. Unfortunately I’d already rescheduled my son’s birthday party for that Sunday, his birthday was the original show date, and there was no way I was missing that. Luckily it led to conversation with Bear and I agreeing we’d just have to play together again at some point so as not to leave things without the big damn to do finale both bands had been hoping for. So that’s that.
Quite excited for our hometown show in Nashville on Wednesday. Haven’t played Exit/In in some time and haven’t done a proper show in town since the Wreckage has been released. Should be alot of fun. Maybe yall can come? Then Bloomington, Chicago and Madison. All shows but Madison are ones that a band member or band family lives in so it’s all warm beds and home cooked meals this week. Lucky, I know.

Discussions are being had right now about the next single from the Wreckage. Should be out in August. Very interested to see what ‘the man’ comes up with on this one. Haha, the man. I like that. Yall feel free to discuss and weigh in with your opinion as well.

Lastly, but certainly not least, thanks to everyone who has emailed their concerns, prayers, etc. about this terrible flooding that went on last week. Fortunately the band and our families were all ok. Some standing water and a couple flooded basements was all we got directly. How truly lucky we are. It seems the national media at large was a bit slow to get on board with coverage. Fortunately, with the number of artists here, I think their fans spread the word and in turn the concern better than anyone. In the aftermath, which is still ongoing and truly remarkable in its scale as you see the areas hardest hit, I want to say how proud and inspired I am by my city and its surrounding areas. The countless acts of heroism during the flood coupled with the seemingly endless outstretched hands of this community to help our own, neighbors, friends, strangers have all stood as family and we WILL get through this. There have been a lot of folks outside of Nashville that have asked about helping and where/how to do it. Hands on Nashville is great(www.hon.org) as is the red cross just to give a couple. Another great option will be coming this Sunday May 16th when GAC presents Music City Keeps On Playin’. This will be the first nationally televised event to try and help raise money directly for those hit by this disaster. The list of performers thus far includes: myself and the band, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Lady Antebellum, Rodney Atkins, CeCe Winans, Jaci Velasquez and Dierks Bentley. The show will be at the Ryman Auditorium and will be simulcast live on GAC from 8-10 pm. In addition performing we will all be manning phones and taking donations. Tickets go on sale Monday at 10 am. You can get more details at gactv.com. Having spent my entire life in Franklin and Nashville I am honored to be a part of this as we want to do everything we can to help out. Spread the word, tune in, enjoy the music and most importantly HELP!!
Thanks yall.

So we are somewhere at a truck stop in western Arkansas but hey, at least the weather is total crap. Like how positive I am? Sorry I’ve not kept yall more in the loop as of late. I know, ‘bad singer! No!’ Truth is we’ve just been crazy busy. Most all the shows have been pretty great. A few yappers in a few places have kinda pissed on things. But all in all it’s been cool. Some highlights, definitely Birmingham. Great crowd. Setlist seemed to work well. Tried out alot of tunes we don’t usually play. I think the fine folks over at heartbreakavenue.com may even have a bootleg of it. Columbus at the Basement was good. Chicago was like playing in a pizza oven. And Milwaukee was killer. I really LOVE Shank Hall. Had a wonderful show then got ‘heckled’ with the ol’-Milwaukee-10-more-song-chant. To backtrack, a few years ago we played and someone yelled that, I thought it was hilarious, and we did it. Well this time we had 0 intention of it but as the encore got rolling we thought what the hell. But me being hardheaded decide by God we will do 11. Shared a nice Spinal Tap moment with their light up Stonehenge. Good times for all. And yes, I’ve never seen Spinal Tap. What? You say. Nope. I’ve never seen it. I don’t dislike it. I’m not afraid of it. It’s just that after being on the road for 12 years you know all the jokes. All the lines and scenes get quoted on a daily basis by damn near everyone you meet. So there, I said it. Hope we can still be friends. If it helps I have seen Star Wars like 3417 times. Am I cool enough now? Ok now off to Oklahoma City.

Sitting in front of the venue in St. Louis awaiting my peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a side of meatballs dinner. Guess that let’s you know we’re back on the road. Had a great first night in Chicago last night. The crowd was exceptional! Thanks to everyone for coming and being so attentive during and supportive after the show. It felt great to be playing again. We’re trying a lot of new stuff on this run and most of it came off without a hitch. I did leave my guitar on mute when Devin and I switched for me to play mandolin. He’s playing away and nothing. I’m thinking my mandolin is the loudest thing in the world, but still concentrating on singing and playing. I realized this about half way through and remedied said problem. Hell of a way to welcome the new guy on his first gig. Oops. Sorry man. Hoping for a good night tonight then planning on catching up with the Jason Isbells tomorrow for our night off/their show in Madison. I suppose that’s all for now. Y’all be well.

I posted one line on Facebook saying, ‘Will is hoping for an Obama Tuesday.’ I was a bit taken back by the comments. Partially because I didn’t know one COULD comment. I tried to respond there, but you can’t reply to your own post. Anyhow, let’s try this:

So I can only hope that when I post about a new album it will garner the same excitement as my last Obama post. Let’s try this:
I LOVE Obama. I could go into how I discovered him in Chicago campaigning for state office. I could talk as a small business owner. I could bore you with my thoughts on energy independence, or my ideals on healthcare which I now have a unique an unwanted firsthand knowledge of. However I will spare you all of that. The short of it is this. I believe in ‘WE THE PEOPLE’. I don’t think fairness, justice, opportunity or equality ever trickles down. Be those things social or economic. I think our nation is at it’s shining best when we the people band together and fix things from the bottom up. That’s how our country was founded. The civil rights movement, women’s suffrage, etc. It all starts with US. To me this ideal is embodied by Obama. I felt even stronger about this after attending the debate festivities here in Nashville. The Obama campaign was a near perfect cross section of our country. Rich, poor, old, young, black, white, Christian and other. It was as inspirational, forward thinking and positive and spiritual event that I’ve ever been a part of. He represents the America I want for my children. I’m not asking any of YOU to agree. That’s just what I believe. If you feel differently you should vote for Senator McCain, or Bob Barr, or write someone in, but VOTE!!!

As for the artists/actors shouldn’t speak up that’s just silly. We’re Americans, we should all speak up!

And let’s talk about the ‘my guy lost, I’m leaving’ idea. That’s equally as silly. You try and support the President. If you disagree then make it known and try to make a difference in your family, your community, your city or state. That’s the American way. I’ve voted now in 4 previous elections and my guy has NEVER won!! I’m still here, even through Bush’s 8 years, and I’ll be here even if its McCain. So let’s quit all the name calling and finger pointing. Go out Tuesday and vote your gut and let’s start working to make our world better. No one person or one party is responsible for getting us where we are, but we the people are solely responsible on where we go from here.

Some of you will read this and say, ‘what a liberal, leftist, pansy way to think.’ But just know that I voted 2 weeks ago for Obama +2 Republicans. Wow, get your head around that…

So things all in all have gone well thus far over here. Decent flight over from Nashville to Chicago, Chicago to London. Slept a bit and then hit the club. Neat little venue. I was told it was the first club Bob Dylan played in London but when I called to ask him he didn’t answer. I was totally surprised by not only the turnout, but the reception. Great seeing my Ryko family and getting to eat at the mexican/thai/japanese/italian/greek buffet beforehand. Caught the train the next morning up to Manchester for the show at Night and Day Cafe. Upon exiting the train I walk into a literal ocean of blue clad football hooligans. Super drunken Scotsmen kilts and all. 100000 of them in town for the championship match. I’ve never in all my travels seen ANYTHING close to this. It made Talledega (which is like redneck Mecca) look like dinner at the white house while the queen is visiting. I guess two of the jumbo-trons that were supposed to show the game broke and so all these thousands of people just lost their shit! It was full on riots with police and then each other. You tube the stuff from Piccadilly Square and you’ll see what I mean. So all the clubs damn near shut down. They’d bar the door and only open if you were obviously there for the music. So needless to say the crowd was a little light(as I’ve always found them to be whilst in the middle of a riot). But the folks that braved it seemed to enjoy themselves. Luckily everyone I dealt with in Manchester that had anything to do with the show as truly a pleasure. They took great care of me and even let me crash on a sofa as it would save me getting through all the hooligans getting out of town. They also introduced me to Vimta?? Some super duper sugary concentrate drink that tastes a bit like a melted icee. It was gooood. Luckily we don’t have it in the states or we’d be an even more fat ass country than we are. Got up early today and flew to Dublin. Really pretty city as well. Did what every first timer should do on their maiden trip to Ireland. Had the 6′ turkey on wheat from Subway. Haha. Luckily I did have some deliciously European chips with my combo. Perhaps a more native dish tomorrow in Belfast.

Played with the Waifs tonight. Man they are one wonderful band to see. I met them years ago when they were opening for Bob Dylan and they just blew me away. The gals vocals together worked so well, but each was really unique in and of itself. Plus I thought Josh’s guitar playing was stunning. Tonight they also had a drummer and keyboard player and it just made the whole thing even more soulful and powerful. If you’ve not seen them make it a point to do it. Buy a ticket and if you don’t enjoy it, hell I’ll pay you back. We’ve definitely got to do some more shows together in the future. So that’s about it. Roamed the streets back to my hostel/hotel where I’m currently listening to a large Slavic man snore so loudly I can hear him through the wall behind me. Guess I’ll drown him out with a little tv and try and get some sleep. See y’all soon

So we’re in Buffalo. Yes. It’s still cold. Rumor has it that our ol’ Canadian pals the Trews are coming across the border tonight. Here’s to hoping that is true. Great night last night in Cleveland. I love the Beachand and it was a great great crowd last night. Rocked in Detroit the night before and it was pretty ok. I’m trying to love Michigan but it’s tough. Thanks to all of y’all that keep on trying though. Spent a nice day off before that with the family in Indiana. Killer show in Chicago at the Double Door. I love that club and that city. Dan Baird told me on our first trip to that town years ago that once Chicago falls in love with your music they’re always there for you. I think the man is right. We love y’all too. See you soon o’ city of wind. Music Mill in Indy was a great night too. The problem there has always been 21 and over shows. Luckily though they’ve built some partitions around the bar and now the shows are 18 and over. We didn’t know that in time to spread the word, but be ready for it next time!! Getting on smashingly well with the Isbell’s as always and the Dawn Landes crew is starting to fit in just fine. Dawn and Olivier experienced shot gunning beers for the first time last night. Hilarious. They did well with the cans of Schlitz, but really shined when we used the cans of Blatz. Welcome to America Olivier. I suppose that’s all for now. Can’t wait for Philly tomorrow and then the big day off there on Monday. I’ll give you a heads up that the first European tour is gonna be announced soon!! 3 weeks in May. Details coming soon. Alright that’s it. Now let’s hope this new fangled blackberry will actually post this thing……