Will Hoge Captivates Stickyz Audience with Fantastic Songwriting

by Julian Spivey

Julian Spivey Photo

Will Hoge brought his one-man act to Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack in Little Rock, Ark., on Wednesday, September 18, for a fantastic night of music.

It was night one of a short trek out west for Hoge at Stickyz, where he mixed in a number of fan favorites from his more than 20 years on the road and some new stuff from his latest release, Tenderhearted Boys, which came out in mid-April.

The 51-year-old singer-songwriter from Nashville is one of the most underrated songwriters in the Americana world. His songs range from folk to country to rock and pop. He can do a little bit of it all and showcased that perfectly on Wednesday night, swapping between multiple guitars, harmonicas, and a keyboard.

Hoge opened the show on Wednesday night with the plaintive “Even the River Runs Out of This Town” from his 2020 album Tiny Little Movies. It’s one of my favorite songs in his repertoire.

What makes Hoge such a terrific songwriter is his ability to perfectly capture the little moments in life that make up our world. His songs are lived in. They’re real, and you feel them in your heart, soul, and mind.

You can feel the highs and lows of a relationship in “A Little Bit of Rust,” you can feel the young high school love in “17” and how a relationship can change one for the better in “Better Than You Found Me.”

Then there’s the songwriter who’s trying to make the world a bit of a better place with important message songs about the despicability of the Confederate flag in “Still a Southern Man” and poking fun at the absurdity of the MAGA cult in “Whose God Is This?”

Hoge told the Stickyz audience that “Still a Southern Man” had gotten him hate mail from the Ku Klux Klan. That’s a pretty badass badge of honor if you ask me.

Hoge is certainly not afraid to speak his mind in his work and has done so terrifically, especially with his 2018 politically tinged album, My American Dream, which I wish he’d perform more tracks from in person. I can certainly understand why he doesn’t. It’s risky. But I think his crowd is with him. And, if they aren’t, that’s their problem.

Hoge had the opportunity to highlight a couple of tracks off his 14th album, Tenderhearted Boys. However, I wouldn’t have minded hearing even more from the new record; it’s another solid release by the veteran singer-songwriter. He performed “Deadbolt,” a song about being caught up in rapture with the one you love. He finished his show with “I’d Be Lying,” which is about being a traveling performer and leaving your family behind while making a living. Hoge spoke before the song about his teenage boys, and you can tell the impact family life has had on him and his music.

Among my other favorite performances of Hoge’s set was his tribute to songwriting legend John Prine, “John Prine’s Cadillac,” which appeared on his previous album Wings on My Shoes from 2022 and is such a fun listen, and “Middle of America” and “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” which show off Hoge’s more commercial songwriting abilities. “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” is arguably the most successful song of Hoge’s career as it was taken to No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart in 2012 by Eli Young Band and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Country Song of the Year.

The most fascinating thing about Hoge is how he can capture the attention and imagination of a room of people just by himself and a guitar. That’s the power of songwriting.