Darius Rucker

When: 30th September 2025
Location: OVO Hydro

Darius Rucker is the inimitable Hootie & The Blowfish frontman and country superstar. Coming to Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on 30th September 2025.

Darius Rucker has two massively successful chapters to his music career: one as the frontman of platinum-selling, Grammy-winning roots rock band Hootie & The Blowfish and another as an equally lauded country singer.

Rucker formed Hootie & The Blowfish in 1986 with friends Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld while studying at the University of South Carolina. Inspired by R.E.M. and the alternative sounds of 80s college radio, the quartet mixed sunny melodic rock with country twang and Rucker’s soulful vocals. They went on to release their debut Cracked Rear View in 1994, conquering all before them with four Top 20 singles and millions of copies sold.

Over the years that followed, Hootie released three more studio albums (including the No.1 record Fairweather Johnson) a Best Of compilation and a collection of odds and sods, including the song ‘I Go Blind’, taken from the Friends soundtrack. In the early 2000s, Rucker launched a solo career, initially leaning towards the R&B sounds that he’d grown up on. His solo debut Back To Then arrived in 2002, featuring appearances from Jill Scott and Snoop Dogg.

When Rucker returned to his solo career in 2005, he opted instead for a more countrified approach. Learn To Live was an immediate hit, partly thanks to the success of single ‘Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It’. The album went platinum and three singles went to the top of the Billboard Country charts. His 2010 follow-up Charleston SC, 1966 was similarly successful, offering up two No.1 singles on the country charts: ‘Come Back Song’ and ‘This’.

Through the 10s, Rucker’s success as a country star continued apace. True Believers contained the single ‘Wagon Wheel’, a Bob Dylan/Old Crow Medicine Show cover that gave him another country No.1 and a crossover hit, going to No.15 on the main Billboard singles chart. Home For The Holidays, Southern Style and When Was The Last Time continued his domination of the country charts.

Hootie & The Blowfish reformed to mark the 25th anniversary of Cracked Rear View, also releasing a new record Imperfect Circle. Rucker was back solo again shortly after, releasing the album Carolyn’s Boy in 2023. In 2024, he announced a UK arena tour for autumn 2025.