Will Hoge Exclusive Tour Diary No. 4: Hoge, Dierks Bentley and Eli Young Band Say Their Goodbyes

Will Hoge may not be country, but he’s found a home there. The hit singer-songwriter penned Eli Young Band‘s single, ‘Even if It Breaks Your Heart’ — which is a smash at country radio — and he just wrapped up a run opening the Country and Cold Cans Tour with both EYB and headliner Dierks Bentley.

Hoge’s resume includes opening shows for Sugarland and performing alongside Keith Urban and Sheryl Crow — not to mention his invites to the Grand Ole Opry and this recent road stint — so he’s certainly no stranger to the genre, even if he is a newcomer. His brand new album, ‘Number Seven,’ was just released to iTunes.

While on the road with Bentley and EYB, Hoge has been keeping tour diaries of his adventures and sharing them exclusively with you — Taste of Country readers. In this entry, sadly, Hoge wraps up his time with his new country music family. Will Hoge writes:

So we rocked a sold out show in Indiana, PA. Didn’t know there WAS a place in Pennsylvania that’s called Indiana. See? The music business can be educational too! Place was CRAZY packed. I really thought all three bands delivered. The EYB boys were heading home for a well-deserved few days off, so they bolted right after their set ended, which means they missed the Dierks Bentley/Will Hoge super-inter-band-jam of ‘The Weight.’ It was our tribute to the late, great Levon Helm! It was fun. Layson played bass, while Cassady played gee-tar and even sang a verse. I don’t think either Dierks or Layson should fear for their respective jobs, but it was fun as hell.

Unfortunately, it was our last night of the Country and Cold Cans Tour. So we had to say all of our goodbyes and thank you’s – all the “hope we can do it again” stuff everyone says at the end of every tour. Cool thing here is we sincerely meant every da–ed word!!  Both EYB and Dierks have been inspirational to watch every night. What goes into the show behind the scenes and onstage, from load-in to load-out, has really been like a graduate-level course to me. I would jump at the chance to share a stage again with any of those chaps, any day of the week. We met SO many new fans/friends. Folks that were die-hard Dierks lovers were so open and so welcoming to our stuff. I can’t wait to come back and play for y’all again.

Also thanks to the folks here at Taste Of Country for allowing you guys to check out these random ramblings and observations of mine.

I hope we will see y’all on the road somewhere.

Thanks,

-Will