NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you want to hear free new music from rocker-turned-country hitmaker Will Hoge this weekend, all you have to do is turn on the television.

His new song “Strong” will be everywhere as part of Chevrolet’s new Silverado ad campaign. The song is becoming so ubiquitous, he doesn’t even have to know the schedule to figure out when the commercial has aired.

“My phone rings all the time — every time there’s a football or baseball game on,” Hoge said.

Hoge’s life has taken a strange and unexpected turn. One of the few musicians in town who actually grew up in Nashville, the 40-year-old Hoge was essentially ignored by the music community in his hometown for the majority of his career.

“I’ve always been a ship without a home,” Hoge said. “Nine records now and it’s always been a thing that I’ve heard: You’re too country for rock and for a long time it was too rock for country. Then there was a point where we were too country for country. I’ve just given up trying to figure it out.”

Lucky for Hoge, there’s little difference between rock and country music these days, something he discovered when the Eli Young Band took his song “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” and turned it into a platinum No. 1 country hit.

That led to unexpected Grammy, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music nominations for best country song, a publishing deal, songwriting sessions with country stars – and notice from the folks at Chevrolet.

The company was looking for a new song to drive the Silverado campaign. It’s a plumb gig.


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