With the Summer Camp with Trucks Tour marking the first full outing in five years for generation-defining band Hootie & the Blowfish, the Nashville stop at Bridgestone Arena this Saturday, July 27, was cause for extra celebration. Having recently been presented with a plaque celebrating 22x Platinum certification during their appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," band members Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld were joined by the Recording Industry Association of America's Chief Policy Officer Morna Willens ahead of this weekend's show for a special presentation of the RIAA's prestigious Double Diamond trophies. The honor solidifies the band's debut album, Cracked Rear View, among the top 10 best-selling albums in all of music history.
The celebration continued as the band took the stage later in the evening, with Forbes describing the show that followed as "a high energy celebration of a band whose music has remained timeless," raving, "the music has never been better. Rucker’s voice is even richer now than ever (if that’s possible) and the musicianship with each and every band member is top notch. And they’re all still having fun with Mark Bryan, guitar-in-hand, singing, jumping, criss-crossing the stage, Soni jamming on the drums, and Felber better than ever on the bass."
"Hootie & the Blowfish's live set could've been Cracked Rear View, front to back, and nobody would've minded it. Instead, they, as they have often since playing more significantly together again for the past five years, endeavored to deliver more," added the Tennessean. "The band, less tethered than ever to genre delineations — partly inspired by their lead singer's 10 country chart-toppers and Grand Ole Opry membership — has a musical freedom amidst them now that adds immeasurably to their live experience."
The Summer Camp with Trucks Tour runs through the fall with special guests Collective Soul and Edwin McCain, visiting arenas, amphitheaters and select stadiums along the way, including a homecoming to Columbia, S.C.’s Colonial Life Arena for the Gamecock alumni. The band will also headline Rucker’s own Riverfront Revival Music Festival in Charleston, S.C. this October. Tickets to all shows are on sale now via Hootie.com.
This year also saw the release of new music from Hootie & the Blowfish, with their rendition of “For What It's Worth,” the timeless anthem originally penned by Stephen Stills in 1966. The chart-topping band’s version of this iconic protest song, recorded in 2017 during their studio sessions for Imperfect Circle, is available HERE.
For more information, visit www.Hootie.com and follow on Facebook @hootieandtheblowfish, Instagram @hootieoffcial and Twitter/X @hootietweets.
Remaining Summer Camp with Trucks Tour Dates
Aug. 1 | Hartford, Conn. | The XFINITY Theatre
Aug. 2 | Holmdel, N.J. | PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug. 3 | Columbia, Md. | Merriweather Post Pavilion
Aug. 8 | Somerset, Wisc. | Somerset Amphitheater
Aug. 9 | Chicago, Ill. | Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Aug. 10 | East Troy, Wisc. | Alpine Valley Music Theatre
Aug. 15 | Cleveland, Ohio | Blossom Music Center
Aug. 16 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Aug. 17 | Bristow, Va. | Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 23 | Las Vegas, Nev. | Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Aug. 29 | Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
Aug. 30 | Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
Sept. 5 | Wantagh, N.Y. | Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Sept. 6 | Syracuse, N.Y. | Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview
Sept. 7 | Toronto, Ontario | Budweiser Stage
Sept. 12 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
Sept. 13 | Raleigh, N.C. | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Sept. 14 | Virginia Beach, Va. | Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Sept. 19 | Charlotte, N.C. | PNC Music Pavilion
Sept. 20 | Alpharetta, Ga. | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Sept. 21 | Greenville, S.C. | Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Sept. 26 | Tampa, Fla. | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sept. 27 | Jacksonville, Fla. | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Sept. 28 | West Palm Beach, Fla. | iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Oct. 12 | North Charleston, S.C. | Riverfront Revival Music Festival
Hootie & the Blowfish band members (L to R) Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Mark Bryan and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld were presented with RIAA Double Diamond trophies by Chief Policy Officer Morna Willens (middle) ahead of their Summer Camp with Trucks Tour performance at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, July 27. | Photo Credit: Jeff Johnson
About Hootie & the Blowfish
With the rich, bluesy vocals of Darius Rucker and gleeful harmonies of guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, Hootie & the Blowfish have sold over 25 million records worldwide to date after their infectious melodies hit the airwaves in 1994 with hits such as “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.” The quartet met at the University of South Carolina where endless gigs at frat houses and local bars built a major local buzz. Their blend of pop, folk, blues, soul and rock made them hard to pigeonhole, but easily accessible to anyone who loved good music.
Atlantic Records, impressed by their regional draw, signed them and released Cracked Rear View in 1994. The album had been out for six months before the band played on the Late Show with David Letterman which sent sales skyrocketing, eventually landing at No. 1 on the Billboard chart the following spring. Cracked Rear View and the band went on to win two GRAMMY Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a Billboard Music Award and multiple People's Choice Awards. Cracked Rear View also earned the band Billboard's Band of the Year Award in 1996 and the RIAA's Diamond Award for sales in excess of 10 million units. At 21x Platinum, Cracked Rear View remains among the Top 10 best-selling studio albums in music history.
The band remained a top draw nationwide following their debut and released five more albums for Atlantic: Fairweather Johnson, Musical Chairs, Scattered, Smothered & Covered, Hootie & the Blowfish and The Best of Hootie & the Blowfish, as well as Looking For Lucky on their own Sneaky Long Records and LIVE in Charleston, The Homegrown Concert Event DVD and CD. The band took a break from full-time touring in 2007, reuniting annually for a variety of philanthropic events while also pursuing solo projects. 2019 marked the band's first full-time touring year in over a decade as they embarked on the sold-out Group Therapy Tour in support of Imperfect Circle, released in late 2019 under a new record deal with Universal Music Group’s Capitol Nashville, and 2024 sees them on the road once again for the Summer Camp with Trucks Tour.