I was really forward to this gig as I’ve been a big fan of Will Hoge but have contrived to have never seen him live. Its solo acoustic tonight and I have blathered on about this being the purest form of a music, one man, one guitar on stage. In a year when I have seen some of the best male Americana acts around such as Andrew Combs, Brent Cobb and Cale Tyson I can now add Hoge to that list.
After falling out of love with song writing Hoge took some time out and has come back refreshed with a new album out soon. The new songs immediately felt familiar and this augers well for its release next month.
The ninety minutes fly by and the stories and jokes between songs worked well and he was immediately engaging with the crowd who seemed to watch in reverential silence unless they were singing along. A set taken from across his catalogue there were many great moments and highlights for me included ‘Middle of America’, ‘Growing up around here’ and ‘Even if it breaks your heart’.
If you want to see an artist at the top of his game who can keep and audience rapt with just a guitar and keyboard then Hoge is your man. He promises to be back with a band later in the year and I can’t wait for that. Great night out.
Keep on country rockin’ y’all