Preview Tue Oct 20 2009

Will Hoge @ Double Door, 10/23

Will Hoge, a Tennessee native, is no stranger to hard work behind the guitar and a demanding tour schedule. But it seems that he's really been tested over the past few years. On the mend, even now, months after a serious traffic accident in Nashville left him broken and nearly blinded, he rolls back into Chicago for a Friday night show at the Double Door this week, and we couldn't be luckier. Bearing his still hot new album, The Wreckage, Hoge also serves up his enticing heartland rock-infused Americana to the stage. With a backing band that includes harmonica, pedal steel and mandolin, this will be no whispered folk show, but instead a loud, throw up your hand and testify roots rock show. Songs on the album like "Long Gone" and "Where Do We Go From Down" are soulful testaments to hard roads of recovery (you can stream the whole album at the band's My Space page). While "Hard to Love" and "Highway Wings" smack of an almost Springsteen-esque vein-straining urgency and desperation. These are songs to drink longneck bottles of beer to. Lucky for you Double Door has those, too.

Will Hoge plays the Double Door, located at 1572 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago on Friday, 10/23. Doors open at 7pm. Andrew Ripp and Jerome Holloway open. Tickets are $15.

— Anne Holub / Comments (1)