I Love Will Hoge!

I don’t know what I would do without music. Tonight I saw one of my favorite artists live. Mr. Will Hoge of Nashville, Tennessee.

The first time I saw him was about four or five years ago at a little bar in Athens, Georgia. I’ve seen him probably ten times total and swear each show tops the last. I always drag whoever I can with me to the shows because no one’s ever heard of him but me, and every person I’ve brought has fallen in love. He is just incredibly talented.

Now you know I love the Great State of Tennessee, and I think he just might be the perfect combination of that fine state. His voice is Memphis blues, and he's got rock ‘n roll from Memphis too, with swanky Nashville country. Maybe a little mountain twang from East Tennessee too. He’s got a great sound.

I went with my friend, K, to the show tonight, and as expected, we had a fun time. We weren’t crazy about the opening act so we sat outside on the porch of the music venue.

A little girl comes up with her dad, and she’s just as cute as she can be with her little blond curls. She’s about three or four years old and asks him to take her inside "to see the rock and roll. " When she comes out, I asked her if she liked it, and her dad said, “Oh yeah, she had fun. She told me she wants to rock out.” Love her!!

Fifteen or twenty minutes later, she comes back dragging her mom behind her. They peak in at the concert, and I hear the little girl say, “Look, Mommy. It’s loud, and I like it.” This is now my favorite little girl ever.

Finally, the time comes, and our main man is on stage. He is HOT. Dark hair, lots of scruff, that unkempt I’m-too-cool-for-primping look and wearing tight, faded jeans with one of those cowboy looking shirts with the snaps. K points out he kind of looks like Ryan Gosling, who I will forever be in love with, and I agree.

He puts on a great live show! He always has so much energy, and he literally has the best voice of anyone I’ve ever seen live. His voice is so strong, and in every show, he’ll sing a little without a microphone and at least once without any accompaniment. A-ma-zing.

Now one time I saw him, there was a bit of a scuffle…but this time, the crowd mixed together well. Meaning no one tried to beat me up.

Ooo and he plays the harmonica too, which I’m a sucker for. I love the bluesy sound it makes, and I think it’s an instrument that is often under-appreciated. But also…damn is it hot. I figure any man that can play a harmonica has one skilled tongue. Come to mama, honey.

Even though the venue told me he’d play until 10:00, he ended up treating us for over two hours. After telling us he had one more song, he was tuning his guitar, and by that point, K and I were very close to the front. So I said, “I really like Washed by the Water.”

I do love that song. It’s beautiful and moving. It’s about Hurricane Katrina. He looked up and grinned. “Oh yeah? You like that one, huh?” And I said, “Yeah, I like it a lot. It’s a great song.” He grinned again aw. And then some jackasses started shouting out other song titles, and he said, “Oh we’ve got a lot of good ones, do we?”

Will started to strum, and then walked down off the stage and out into the crowd. He walked to the center of the venue where his two band members were, and they played a song right there without any amps or microphones while the audience circled around. It was great. And then…he played my song! He said they weren’t gonna do another one, but that he liked that song too. And it was beautiful.

All in all, another great concert night. So look up that little guy from Nashville and see what you think. I recommend Washed by the Water, Woman Be Strong, July Moon and Sweet Magdeline. I’m not sure you can really get the feel of him, though, without seeing him live, but I betcha he’s coming soon to a music venue near you.