Listen: Will Hoge Fosters Inclusivity and Community with “Can I Be Country Too?”

Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge is cultivating a community of inclusion and collaboration with his new song “Can I Be Country Too?” Released today (August 14), the inspiring anthem is driven by a choir of multi-genre talents, including The Kentucky Gentlemen, Michael Allen, Cheryl Deseree, Carmen Dianne, and The Country Any Way Collective.

The project is a joint effort from Hoge and the grassroots organizations Country Any Way and Shoes Off Nashville. The Black Opry founder Holly G launched Country Any Way to help bring fans, artists, and industry leaders to uplift the country music community. Songwriter Benn Park founded Shoes Off Nashville to support and uplift Asian Pacific Islanders living in Nashville. 

American Songwriter was in the studio with Hoge, Holly G, and the lengthy list of contributing artists as they brought “Can I Be Country Too?” to life. As the vocalists stood shoulder-to-shoulder inside Nashville’s Sound Emporium studio, happily chatting and sharing laughs between takes, the importance of making a space for everyone’s voice was more apparent than ever.

“I’ve always been a bit of an outsider when I’m working on the fringes of the country music world as an artist and writer, and the reasons for that sometimes are incredibly frustrating,” Hoge says in a statement. “I always felt like a lot of my core beliefs and cares were things that if maybe they weren’t allowed, they were definitely frowned upon. Over the last couple years I feel the genre, commercially at large, has really shown how small and homogenous it can be. I know how hard that is for me and I started thinking about how that must feel for so many other folks that I love and care about who are just trying to find their place.” 

“When I first started working in country music and started Black Opry, Will Hoge was one of the very first people to reach out and lend his support,” Black Opry founder Holly G adds. “We’ve built a friendship on learning and better understanding each other’s perspectives, and to this day, Will is the only artist who’s invited the Black Opry Revue to open for him for a show. He’s been such a great friend and supporter.” 

[RELATED: Black Opry and Public Radio Station WXPN Work to Create Equity for Artists of Color]

It would be easy to categorize “Can I Be Country Too?” as a direct response to the recent controversy around Jason Aldean’s “Try That In a Small Town.” The inspiration behind the song was sparked months before Aldean’s track hit the airwaves. Still, the discourse around country music’s ongoing issues with inclusion and equality motivated Hoge to move forward.

“I’d played this song for Holly and told her I wanted to surround myself with folks that are doing this work from the margins and feel frustrated and kind of left out,” says Hoge. “The artists that lined up to do it represent everything I’ve loved about Nashville and the music community here since I was a little kid. It was such a tremendous joy to feel the love in the room as we tracked the song. Having all those voices and all those humans being unabashedly who they are was just tremendous. I’m flattered so many folks showed up in support.”

For one joyful afternoon, Hoge and his collaborators put their heart and energy into each hopeful, pleading line. The song’s bold, polished country soundscape is formed by Allen Jones and Jerry Pentecost on drums, Christopher Griffiths on bass, Josh Grange on pedal steel and piano, Audley Freed on electric guitar and Josh Mailiner on fiddle and mandolin.

The new friendships formed and memories made during one brief afternoon recording session have ushered in a much-needed jolt of positivity around the future of country music.

“It was such a breath of fresh air to get the call from Will about this project during a rough few weeks here in Nashville,” Holly G says. “We quickly got to work to put together what has been one of my absolute favorite days in Nashville and one of the most special things I’ve ever gotten to be a part of. This being the first thing I got to work on with my project Country Any Way was such a great way to kick it off. Putting together ‘Can I Be Country Too’ was centered around community, inclusion and a love of music which is exactly what inspired me to create Country Any Way.” 

By tapping into the all-star synergy of the 1985 charity single “We Are the World,” Hoge hopes to open a door for a new generation of artists hoping to carve their own space in Nashville.

“I hope that for young listeners out there, the ones that dream about carving out some kind of living in this business, and they wonder if they fit in,” Hoge says, “I hope this song is a resounding ‘Yes. You belong.’”

Listen to “Can I Be Country Too?” below:

Photo Credit: Peyton Hoge