Will Hoge

Will Hoge
Hoge in New York, August 21, 2014
Background information
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Genres	Americana, Southern Rock, Alternative Country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Rykodisc
Associated acts	Eli Young Band
Website	www.willhoge.com

Will Hoge (born November 14, 1972) is a Grammy-nominated American Americana country music singer, songwriter, and musician from Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

Will Hoge grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, located just south of Nashville. His sound was influenced by his musician father and uncles and the extensive record collection that his father kept.

Hoge attended Western Kentucky University to study history, planning to become a high school history teacher and basketball coach. He decided that he wanted to try his hand at rock and roll and began writing music. Will left the university after realizing he wanted to be a musician.

Will released an early EP of original music with his band Spoonful in the mid-1990s. However, the band was not picked up and eventually disbanded. Some of these early songs were recycled on later albums, and are still hits with his loyal followers.

With former The Georgia Satellites guitarist Dan Baird in tow, Hoge began touring the American south. He independently released his first CD, Live At The Exit/In, a live set recorded at the Nashville club. His original sound drew much attention and, through constant touring, he was able to release his first studio album, Carousel.

Hoge caught the attention of Atlantic Records music executives and he was signed to a record deal in early 2002. Atlantic then re-released Carousel to a wider market. His 2003 major label debut, Blackbird On A Lonely Wire was a cleaner sounding effort; however, the album was poorly promoted by Atlantic. Eventually, Hoge asked for and received a release from his contract, re-obtaining the rights to Carousel.

The support of his fans has given Hoge the ability to tour incessantly, and self-release a couple live albums (2004's Almost Alone: Live At Smith's Olde Bar' and 2005's During the Before and After), a politically charged album called The America EP (which included a cover of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin')", and a bluesy rock and roll sounding album, The Man Who Killed Love.