Will Hoge Struggles With Southern Pride, Condemns Confederate Flag in 'Still a Southern Man' [Fresh Track]

Being proud of your identity as a Southerner is a complicated thing to do — perhaps never more difficult, at least in recent memory, than in the wake of the horrific shooting at Charleston, S.C.'s Emanuel AME Church on June 17, perpetrated in the name of white supremacy. The Confederate battle flag is a symbol inextricably bound to slavery and racism, no matter what other meanings it may have to someone who isn't subject to that racism. That's an important part of the conversation about removing the flag from public places (which we explored in last week's Scene), and the inspiration behind "Still a Southern Man," a new song from Will Hoge, who joins the chorus of voices calling for the flag to come down.  The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter grew up in Franklin, the site of an important Civil War battle and whose high school mascot is a rebel soldier. In his youth, Hoge subscribed to the idealized image of the flag as a symbol of individualism, but as he saw more of the world, his perspective broadened. In response to defenders of the flag, he wrote the ripping Southern rock tune, which was recorded in a one-night session at RCA Studio A.

"It's not about taking the flag down in South Carolina or taking [the stars and bars] off the flag in Mississippi," Hoge tells Rolling Stone. "It's me telling my story in how I found my way in this. If I have any hope for the song, it's that there could be this 16-year-old Southern kid hearing it who has never been able to make sense of his place, and maybe it is something that can spur that along."

Hoge is touring behind his latest album, Small Town Dreams, and will next play in the midstate at the inaugural Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin Sept. 26-27.