The group is on tour for the first time since 2019
Hootie and the Blowfish brought a mix of hits, and Darius Rucker faves to Jiffy Lube Live on Saturday night (Aug 17th) as part of the band’s Summer Camp With Trucks Tour.
Rucker, fresh from celebrating the release of his riveting new memoir, spoke with us earlier this summer about the decision to get Hootie back together. The Summer Camp With Trucks Tour is their first in half a decade.
In promoting the trek, the band described the show as a “celebration” of the music. 2024 marks the anniversary of their smash hit album Cracked Rear View.
“I Go Blind” opened the night, followed by a bouncy “Wishing” and a driving “I Will Wait.” Rucker, as is his trademark, wore a black concert tee. In Virginia, he repped the fictional Randy Watson, a side character from Coming to America.
There’s a light, airiness to Hootie’s music that paired well with a breezy northern Virginia night. They didn’t seek to blow out 20,000 ear drums; headbangers are not their style. Instead, the crowd let the music wash over them.
Particularly hypnotic was Hootie’s version of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” which they dropped right before the tour. The whole room swayed along. R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”—which they covered on a previous album—was another brilliant cover that showcased their influences. “Solitude,” joined by original artist Edwin McCain, who opened the show. Rucker and McCain’s harmonies elevated the number.
The decision to include Rucker staples “Alright” and “Wagon Wheel” rounded out the setlist. It allowed the Hootie fan to understand the line that Rucker draws between his alt-rock group and his country sound. Live, the prevalence of string-heavy melody in Rucker’s and the Blowfish’s respective catalog provides a nice through-line between both.
And Hootie’s music can sometimes lean into a down-home sound. “Running from an Angel” has a great fiddle hook that, when offered live, gives the listener chills. And “Desert Mountain Shakedown” is a pure bluegrass song. The band admitted as much, with Rucker demonstrating his surprising adeptness at the mandolin.
Vocally, Rucker sounded great. His distinctively rich voice switches effortlessly between a kind of melodic-talking on wordy verses, to holding pitch-perfect notes. His is the vocal roadmap that Hootie’s musical versatility follows.
Of course, the biggest singalongs were saved for the end: “Hold My Hand” and “Only Wanna Be With You” closed out a night honoring one of soft and alternative rock’s most prolific catalogs.
