Hootie Singer is First Act Announced for Musikfest

Darius Rucker, best known for being lead singer of 1990s chart-toppers Hootie & The Blowfish, is the first act that ArtsQuest has announced will appear at the 30^th Musikfest in August.

Rucker, who is now a popular country artist, will be the featured performer at the Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza on Aug. 9. Tickets, at $39 and $54 each, will go on sale to the public on Dec. 21. ArtsQuest members can start buying tickets on Dec. 18. They’ll be available at musikfest.org and 610-332-3378.

Since the release of 2008’s Learn to Live, Rucker has been a mainstay on the country charts. On the strength of three No. 1 singles - “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” “It Won't Be Like This for Long” and “Alright” - Learn to Live spent 82 weeks on the Billboard charts and earned Rucker the Country Music Association’s Top New Artist award.

Rucker’s follow-up, 2010’s Charleston, SC 1966, featured the hits “Come Back Song” and “This.“ His most recent single is “True Believers,” which will be included on his new record of the same name, due out in January.

Hootie & The Blowfish have sold more than 25 million records around the world since their multi-platinum, Grammy-winning debut Cracked Rear View. That record sold more than 16 million copies in the U.S. alone and featured the hits “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”