Multi-platinum band Hootie & the Blowfish will return from a lengthy hiatus in 2019, embarking on their first full-scale tour in more than a decade and releasing a studio album for the first time in nearly 15 years.
Dubbed the Group Therapy Tour, the trek will visit 44 North American cities with fellow Nineties stars Barenaked Ladies as special guests, kicking off May 30th in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and wrapping up September 13th with a homecoming concert in Columbia, South Carolina. Along the way the band will also perform at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, New York City’s Madison Square Garden and a number of state fairs. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, December 7th, with pre-sales beginning today. In addition, the Grammy-winning group also plans to release an album through a new record label deal with Universal Music Group Nashville, the same label group where singer Darius Rucker is currently signed as a solo performer.
Mixing elements of rock, soul, folk and pop, Hootie & the Blowfish were founded in the late Eighties by Rucker, guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld while the four were students at the University of South Carolina. Their 1994 album debut, Cracked Rear View, struck a chord with a wide array of music fans, eventually selling more than 21 million copies on the strength of hit singles like “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”
In 2008 the band took a break from regular touring so Rucker could pursue a solo career in country music, a venture which has so far resulted in five albums, eight Number One singles and a Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance for “Wagon Wheel” in 2013. Earlier in 2018, they returned to the stage to play a supporting role at Jason Aldean’s High Noon Neon Tour stop July 21st at SunTrust Park in Atlanta.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Rolling Stone