On Saturday, July 21, Darius Rucker will take a break from his co-headlining Summer Plays On Tour with Lady Antebellum to reunite with his rock band, Hootie & the Blowfish, for one night as guests artists on Jason Aldean‘s High Noon Neon Tour.
The band, whose last album, Looking for Lucky, was released in 2005, announced in 2008 that they were going on hiatus so Rucker could pursue a solo career. But now, Hootie & the Blowfish will return again, although Rucker admits they might be a bit rusty on stage.
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“[It’s been] a long time!” Darius tells ABC News Radio. “You know that’s probably the thing that had me a little hesitant when Jason [Aldean] first asked. It was like, ‘Man, we haven’t done anything that big in a long, long time!’ But, you know, we’ll put it together and see what happens.”
It was Aldean’s idea to see if Rucker would put Hootie & the Blowfish back together for one night.
“[I] started naming acts that we thought were possibilities. Hootie and the Blowfish popped in my head, and I said that to him, and I could just see a light bulb come on,” recalls Aldean. “He turned around and said, ‘Hmm, that’s interesting.’ We’re both friends with Darius, we’ve known him for years. Darius and I have the same manager too, so we kind of started going down that road a little bit. I mean, they were the biggest thing in the world for a while. They don’t really play much. It’s kind of like when they get back together, it’s a pretty big deal.
“Somehow we were able to talk those guys into getting back together one more time during the year, to play this show,” Aldean adds. “It’s not far from South Carolina, where they’re from and got their start. I really don’t know how we managed to pull that off, but I’m glad that he was into the idea. It’s a pretty cool show. I’m excited for my own self, because I never got to see them play live. Now I actually get to see Hootie and the Blowfish, so looking forward to it.”
Rucker isn’t the only one looking forward to the show. Lauren Alaina admits she’s eager to take the stage, in part because of her love affair with the Atlanta Braves.
“I grew up a Braves fan, so to be able to play in their new stadium, and my dad is gonna get to be there – that’s the best part,” Alaina admits. “My dad is a huge Braves fan, and some of my favorite childhood memories with him are watching the Braves play baseball on TV.”
Luke Combs will also perform for the historic show. A limited number of tickets are still available, and can be found at DariusRucker.com.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Suzanne Cordeiro
