Will Hoge, William Elliott Whitmore Bring Different Kinds of Americana to White Water Tavern

by Julian Spivey

Julian Spivey Photos

Singer-songwriters Will Hoge and William Elliott Whitmore brought their fall co-headlining tour to The White Water Tavern in Little Rock, Ark. for a wonderful night of stories and songs on Thursday, September 21.

It’s interesting how some of these pairings take place. Hoge mentioned on the stage the two artists had never even met each other until the day before and their music while both falling within I’d considered to be the genre catch-all known as Americana music wasn’t all that similar. Hoge’s music is more alt-country, whereas Whitmore’s was more bluesy-folk. Whitmore’s performance is more guttural, while Hoge’s is more thoughtful. Both musicians were friendly and talkative on the stage with Hoge being more storyteller-ish and Whitmore having a “I’m just happy to be here” type vibe with the crowd.

The crowd was a bit of a surprise to me too even though I’d been to many White Water Tavern shows before – it’s truly become my favorite concert venue in my surrounding area – I was surprised that the majority of those in attendance on Thursday night seemed to know Whitmore better than Hoge, whereas I was the other way around. I’ve been a fan of Hoge’s songwriting for many years and had seen him previously across town at Stickyz Chicken Shack and had never heard of Whitmore before.

By the end of the evening, I would be thrilled with Hoge’s set and have found a new artist in Whitmore from whom I’d be looking for upcoming music. Hopefully, those in attendance for Whitmore felt the same about Hoge.

Hoge peppered his set on Thursday with a handful of songs from his most recent album – 2022’s Wings On My Shoes. He opened the show with “Birmingham” off the album and later included the lovely “The Last One to Go,” the hilariously biting “Whose God is This,” taking on a particularly insidious brand of religion you’ll see from many within this country, and he’d finish the show off with a fantastic performance of “John Prine’s Cadillac.”

Among my favorite performances from Hoge’s 12-song set on Thursday night was “Still a Southern Man,” about how it’s past time to tear down the hate-filled Confederate battle flag and how one can be a Southerner without believing in such a hateful symbol of the region’s past. It’s likely my favorite Hoge song period and it’s a message I love that Hoge has enough bravery to perform for a crowd in the Deep South, in a city that has certainly had its share of racist moments in its past.

I also loved Hoge’s performance of “Even the River Runs Out of This Town,” which was my favorite track from his 2020 album Tiny Little Movies. It’s such a beautifully solemn take on running one’s course in a particular place.

The biggest surprise from Hoge’s set for me was the performance of “Can I Be Country Too?,” which had just been released as a single to streaming platforms a couple of weeks prior and I figured might be too new and unknown to play in a short set in a small room, especially as the recorded track is a collaboration with numerous artists from the Black Opry, Shoes Off Nashville and more. It’s a song that Hoge was inspired to write after the recent controversies within the country music community surrounding such vitriolic views like Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” and its accompanying music video. With lines like: “What if I believe that black lives matter” and “What if I think gays gettin’ married’s OK” the song speaks to me as someone who believes both in country music and inclusivity among all. There’s no doubt that “Can I Be Country Too?” is going to end up being one of my favorite songs of 2023.

Speaking of country music, Hoge had quite the big country hit as a songwriter when Eli Young Band took his “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” to No. 1 on the charts in 2012 and garnered Hoge a couple of Grammy Award nominations for co-writing it. His performance of the song on Thursday was another highlight of his set.

Thursday night was Hoge’s debut at the White Water Tavern, which is sort of hard to believe, but I sure hope he’ll be back for more in the future.

Despite never having heard Whitmore’s music I hung around for his set – as any music listener should do – and I’m sure glad I did. I was immediately taken by his banjo playing and the bluesy guttural vocals of songs like “Lift My Jug” and “Diggin’ My Grave.” The musician out of Iowa was playing the White Water Tavern for the second time. I believe he said and raved about the small venue he claimed would be his home base if he lived in the area. It’s just a small one-room bar with a tiny stage in the corner but there’s always something magical about the venue and the artists who perform there constantly rave about it.

One of Whitmore’s biggest receptions on Thursday came from his cover of punk band Bad Religion’s “Don’t Pray On Me,” which is quite the sight coming from a bluesy folk singer from Iowa. A couple of my favorites of his set were the tale of the C.I.A. LSD tests called “Mk Ultra Blues” and “Old Devils,” about the elder leaders of the country and how they never seem to change. But my favorite performance from his set was “Johnny Law,” a Woody Guthrie-esque jam about a bad cop getting his jollies from being a bad cop.

Whitmore seems like an interesting cat, and I’ll be paying more attention to his stuff from now on. It’s always nice when you get to a show to see one artist and come out as a fan of another.