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By Amanda Miles – Atlanta Music Guide

In May 2010, two weeks after a thousand-year flood devastated parts of Nashville, TN, Will Hoge and his band drove 14 hours back home to perform a single song on stage at the historic Ryman Auditorium. He’d been invited to perform the finale of a nationally televised benefit concert stacked with high-profile artists like Keith Urban, Keb Mo and Brad Paisley. But as a native son of Nashville and a true home-town rock star with an extraordinary ability to connect with a crowd, Hoge’s powerhouse vocal on “Washed By The Water” proved the perfect climax and well worth the long haul. We chatted with Will before his show tomorrow at Vinyl.

Will Hoge: Number Seven
By Bill Clifford – Pop Matters
29 February 2012

Often, you’ll hear young singer/songwriters with a poetic lyrical bent being tagged with “…the next Dylan” comparison. Less often however, is a young rock artist labeled as “… the next Springsteen.” Franklin, Tennessee based roots rocker Will Hoge happens to fall as the latter. His seventh studio full-length CD, Number Seven, bears a strong likeness to New Jersey Bruce’s songwriting, albeit with a bit more southern twang rather than a central Jersey dialect. Stonewashed denim and flannel shirts, unkempt facial hair and curly locks, and a gritty but passionate vocal delivery certainly further the similarity.

Much like the iconic American rocker, Hoge’s stock and trade has been the trials and tribulations of love won and lost and the busted relationship, and this recording has its share of such. Opener “Fool’s Gonna Fly” leads with the bare-knuckled line, “Shakespeare was a traitor as far as I’m concerned,” which goes on to suggest that the bard would have had another view of love had he fallen for the mean-spirited ex-lover addressed here. Solemn guitars and harmonica accentuate the point. Despite the glum theme of an empty and meaningless relationship – even when sharing the same room – “Gone” is one of the catchiest sing-along’s Hoge has written.

20-City Tour Kicks Off April 13 In Los Angeles with Special Guest Eli Young Band and Will Hoge and The Cadillac Black in Select Markets

Multi-Platinum singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley announced today that he will bring his Country & Cold Cans Tour back to the U.S. this spring with 20 cities to be announced in the coming weeks. Republic Nashville’s Eli Young Band will rejoin Bentley for the run, along with a combination of Will Hoge and The Cadillac Black in the opening slot. The tour kicks off in Los Angeles on April 13 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live with tickets for the first show going on sale Fri., Feb 10. Other dates and on-sales will roll out by market over the coming weeks.

“Country & Cold Cans was such a great tour last fall…it’s just way too much fun to stop and we knew we had to continue it into the spring and make another run across the U.S. when we get home from Canada and Australia. We’re even going to Alaska…giving new meaning to COLD cans,” laughed Bentley. “I’m excited that EYB is coming out with us again…great dudes and they put on a killer show. I’m also a big fan of both The Cadillac Black and Will Hoge, so I’m looking forward to watching their sets every night.”

Bentley is currently gearing up for the release of his sixth studio album HOME on Feb. 7. The new album’s anthemic second single and title track received an ACM nomination for Song Of The Year last week and is pushing its way up the Top 10 of the radio charts. Billboard noted that the song is “Maybe his strongest lyrical statement to date, the single reminds us of a late 70s Haggard track — the ultimate compliment. The past few years have seen some of the best work of his career, and this is another example.” The lead single “Am I The Only One” already peaked in the No. one spot and has been certified GOLD. Bentley’s earlier albums have earned him eight No. one hits, over five million total album sales and 10 GRAMMY nominations.

Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl,” has been certified PLATINUM with sales of over 1.4 million downloads and was named Billboard’s No. one Country Song of The Year. The band has performed the hit on Late Show With David Letterman, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and the ACA Awards. LIFE AT BEST made its debut at No. three on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart and No. six on the Billboard 200. It came in at No. one on the iTunes Country Albums Chart and No. two on the iTunes All Genre chart.

Critically acclaimed Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge’s seventh studio album, aptly titled NUMBER SEVEN, explores the struggles of the heart that are Hoge’s songwriting stock in trade while revealing enticing range and freshness on the sonic front. The Philadelphia Inquirer noted its “raw, impassioned power,” while the Chicago Sun-Times called it “a rich, textured album.” For the past 10 years, Hoge has maintained a rigorous touring schedule, building his fan base by playing hundreds of shows a year. Hoge recently made his late night TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The Cadillac Black like to refer to their sound as “Country Fuzz.” It’s a little bit country, a little bit rock & roll and a whole lot of whiskey soaked fun. On stage TCB bring a high energy show that will make your feet stomp, your beers pop and your heart skip a beat. Their debut album will be out in the spring of 2012, but has already had six songs featured in TV shows prior to its release including FOX’s “House,” CW’s “Hart of Dixie” and “Vampire Diaries.”

For more info on the new album and for a full list of “Country & Cold Cans” dates as they roll out, visit www.dierks.com .

NINEBULLETS.NET

I’m not sure how it took me this long to hear about Will Hoge and I’m even less sure why, in all this time, not a single one of you bastards emailed me a note telling me to check him out.  Well, I may be late to the party, but with his seventh release I finally stumbled upon Mr. Will Hoge and I’m loving it.

I can’t speak for any of Will’s other albums as I’ve not listened to any of them (yet), but while Number Seven may be lucky in theory, for the bulk of the characters on this album it’s anything but. On “American Dream” Will provides a voice for the beggar on the corner you try to ignore when you get caught by the light and does so in a matter-of-fact unflinching/patronizing manner. Similarly, he attacks the issue of illegal immigration on “The Illegal Line” with the same unflinching eye.

Really, I think that’s my favorite thing about this album. Lyrically, it’s real and it never compromises on that “realness” for the sake of a better flowing/more poetic line, whether it be on the subject of homelessness, illegal immigration or just waking up and realizing that even on your best day you’re just mediocre.

Number Seven is one of those albums that ends with me wanting more. I want the outtakes that didn’t make the cd. I want the demos for the songs that did.  My only regret is that I didn’t hear this album earlier as it, undoubtedly, would have been a Top 5 in my year end list. Only thing I have left for it this late in the game is to tell y’all about it and to crown it Essential Listening.

Will Hoge made his late night debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live on January 10th, 2012. If you missed the show, don’t worry we’ve got the clips right here! Will performed “Fool’s Gonna Fly,” and “Too Old To Die Young.” If you haven’t picked up your copy of Will Hoge’s new album NUMBER SEVEN click here to order today!

NUMBER SEVEN GARNERS STRONG REVIEWS

Nashville, TN- Jan. 9, 2012- Nashville rocker Will Hoge is set to make his late night TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tues., Jan. 10 at 11:00P CT/12:00A ET.  He will perform “Too Old To Die Young” from his seventh studio album, NUMBER SEVEN.

Critics are praising NUMBER SEVEN, calling it “a rich, textured album”- (3 1/2 stars) Chicago Sun-Times.

“Number Seven may prove to be a lucky number for Will Hoge. His new disc and seventh studio album contains 11 tracks of gripping, gritty roots rock that just might deliver Hoge out of cultdom and into more commercial success.” – (4 stars) American Songwriter

Philly.com – Nick Cristiano

He comes from Nashville – well, from just outside Music City – but Will Hoge is not a country singer. He’s a rocker, albeit one whose music contains rootsy strains. On his new album, Number Seven (as in his seventh studio album), you can hear strains of country, blues, and soul. And, taking his cues from those genres, Hoge the songwriter doesn’t flinch from facing up to darkness and hard truths, whether it’s on a personal level (“Too Old to Die Young,” “Gone”) or on a broader one (“American Dream,” “The Illegal Line”). For all that, however, he ends on a supremely stirring note with “When I Get My Wings.” It’s a ballad that sounds like vintage Stax, and Hoge has the raw, impassioned power to pull it off.

Will Hoge performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Tickets: $19-$37 in advance, $21-$39 day of show. Information: 215-222-1400.

By CHRIS TALBOTT, AP Entertainment Writer

At first, no one thought Will Hoge would live.

The singer-songwriter lost six pints of blood on the pavement as paramedics raced to the scene of the collision between Hoge’s scooter and a 15-passenger van.

The list of his injuries is too long to reprint but included broken ribs, sternum, shoulder blades and a collarbone; crushed lungs, temporary blindness, concussion, shattered knee and a mysteriously absent 4 1/2-inch section of his femur. Doctors used 300 stitches to repair his face and sew his eyelids back on.

“If I hadn’t recognized his tattoos, I wouldn’t have known it was my husband,” Hoge’s wife, Julia, said.

Wolfgang’s Vault

Will Hoge’s 2011 record called “Number Seven” is a much anticipated release from the storytelling Nashville based “heartland rocker.”   We asked Will to share with us his influences, which he lists as:  Otis Redding, Buck Owens, Hank Williams, The Everly Brothers, The Faces, Townes Van Zandt, Loretta Lynn, Muddy Waters, The Stanley Brothers and George Jones.

We took a sample of that list to make you the playlist , adding in some more names that writers have said they heard in the Will Hoge style, including former Georgia Satellites frontman Dan Baird who now plays lead guitar in Will Hoge’s band and on his record. LISTEN TO WILL’S PLAYLIST HERE

Get to know Will Hoge on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/willhoge  and check out his new record now in iTunes.

Dave Paulson – Tennessean

Getting a turn on the Grand Ole Opry stage, playing with Vince Gill on your new album, having your new music video enter rotation on CMT — they’d be sweet feats for any musician, but they’re even sweeter for Nashville independent rock/soul vet Will Hoge, who got to this point in his career on his own terms.

“I feel like Nashville has opened its arms even more to me,” he says. “And I certainly hope that I’ve opened my arms even more to it.”

It’s appropriate that all this good fortune comes Hoge’s way as he’s just released his seventh album, Seven — his second since a serious motor scooter accident in 2008 took him off the stage for nearly a year. Since then, Hoge has adopted a slightly slower pace from his days of playing up to 250 shows in a year, and recording in a rush. The time at home with his wife and kids has paid off in more ways than one.