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Will recently filmed an episode of CMT’s web show Concrete Country! Watch the clip below and click here to see the rest of the webisode. Make sure your tell your friends and comment to let CMT know what you think about Will! more!

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.

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.

by Amanda Miles – Atlanta Music Guide

Nashville roots-rocker Will Hoge has a knack for illustrating tales of sorrow, joy and triumph in his music. His latest album, Number Seven, is no exception. A follow up to 2009’s powerful The Wreckage, Number Seven examines the human conditions of love, loss, betrayal and grief. It seems seven just may be Will’s lucky number. Named in honor of his seventh studio album, the first single is garnering interest on a national stage. The debut single, “When I Get My Wings”, was inspired by an obituary Will stumbled across detailing a beautiful fifty year marriage. The heart wrenching Memphis-soul inspired video is receiving regular rotation on CMT. Will was excited to discuss his latest project with Atlanta Music Guide.

By: Matt Bjorke – Roughstock

With the release of Number Seven, Will Hoge has not only followed up the fantastic album The Wreckage (which features the original version of “Even if it Breaks Your Heart”) with a great album but an even more rich, textured album with, as our friends at Farcethemusic tweeted , “more hooks than a tackle box.”

Number Seven kicks off with “Fools Gonna Fly,” the sort of bluesy roots rock/soul number that immediately proves Will Hoge not only has a voice that’s as good as, if not stronger than, many other rock and/or country artists but also that his songwriting is as sharp as anyone on music row. From the opening line to the closing lines, the song sets the listener up for what comes over the course of the eleven tracks found throughout the record.

By Michael Berick – American Songwriter

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.

Hoge actually is lucky to be around to make this album, having had a near-fatal accident in 2008. While he doesn’t really directly address this undoubtedly traumatic event, the subject of morality does surface several times. The rousing “Too Old To Die Young” essays a man who “woke up alone at 35 just across town from my ex-wife.” While he regrets “the foolish things I’ve done,” he finds solace in his kids’ love. In the deeply felt ballad “Trying To Be A Man,” a new father talks to his baby son while struggling to cope after his wife died during childbirth. It’s followed by the album closer, “When I Get My Wings,” a Memphis-style soulful rocker about a widower dealing with the death of his beloved wife after 57 years of marriage. The stirring song finishes the disc on a high note, as Hoge’s impassioned vocals couples marvelously with his heart-tugging lyrics and the Memphis-style soulful rock.

The Boot

“Five months later, with tears in both her eyes / She handed me those two pink lines / The only test in my whole life I didn’t fail / I told her we’d be fine, but I was scared as hell“ — Will Hoge, ‘Trying to Be a Man’

Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge tells the true story of the start of his family on the poignant new song, ‘Trying to Be a Man,’ featured on his upcoming album, ‘NUMBER SEVEN.’ “The first half of the song is pulled directly from the birth of my first son,” he tells The Boot. “My wife Julia and I were unmarried at the time and trying to just get by on a working musician’s salary. I always told Julia it would be fine, but I certainly spent some sleepless nights trying to think about how I was going to take care of this family that was on the horizon.”

Click here to listen to the exclusive premiere of ‘Trying to Be a Man’.

The song takes a heartbreaking turn that’s thankfully fictional for Will himself, but was inspired by a friend’s tragedy. “For the last part of the song, I thought back to a friend from high school who lost his wife during childbirth,” he explains. “I imagine looking into my children’s eyes and having to be strong, but also hoping they don’t know in a lot of ways I’m just a scared kid with no answers, no clues, no handbook.”

Will recorded ‘Trying to Be a Man’ a few times, using different microphones, different rooms and even different phrasing of the lyrics. But he ended up going back to the “scratch vocal” for the final cut, giving the track a more natural feel. Still, he knew something was missing.

“Once everything was done, I just felt we needed a more special guitar solo,” Will recalls. “Vince Gill is one of my favorite musicians, and his playing kept coming back in my mind every time I’d think about the song. We have the same manager, so I asked him if I could call Vince and to see if there was any chance he’d play on the track. Thankfully, Vince agreed. He played this incredible sounding, old Martin guitar that probably costs more than my whole album budget. The sound of that guitar and his touch was just perfect right out of the gate. It’s a highlight of my recording career thus far.”

NUMBER SEVEN will be released Sept. 27, with Will’s fall headlining tour kicking off Sept. 24 in Athens, Ga. Jaron and the Long Road to Love, Locksley, James Dunn, Brighton, Nic Cowan and Aunt Martha will trade opening slots on various dates. Click here to see Will’s full concert schedule.

Jon Freeman – Music Row

Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge treated industry friends and guests to a selection of new songs at The Standard on Wednesday (8/17). Hoge’s seventh studio album, Number Seven(Ryko), is due out September 27.

Hoge’s set included Number Seven’s first single, “When I Get My Wings,” a Memphis soul-styled meditation on death. Attendees were also treated to “American Dream,” a mournful take on the plight of the homeless, and domestic lament “Trying To Be A Man.”

“I’m really proud of this album,” says Hoge. “Everything I’ve been  through in the last couple of years has caused me to slow down and be  more thoughtful about what sort of music I’m putting out. The process of  creating music has changed too.  For the first time, I feel like this  album really encompasses everything about me as an artist. I’m just  ready for everyone to hear it!”

Number Seven is Hoge’s followup to his acclaimed 2009 album The Wreckage, which he recorded after a near fatal traffic accident. That collection’s “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” has been cut by Eli Young Band for its new album Life At Best, which hit stores August 16.