Hootie & the Blowfish Add Second Madison Square Garden Tour Date
Fans are so eager to see the newly-reunited Hootie & the Blowfish on tour that they've forced a second date to be added at one of the most respected venues in the U.S.
The fourpiece brand comprised of country crossover star Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Jim Sonefeld and Dean Felber will play an additional night at Madison Square Garden in New York City as part of the Group Therapy Tour on Aug. 11, following a sold out show the night before on Aug. 10.
"Madison Square Garden, for any musician, is Mecca. When you’ve played the Garden and you’ve sold out the Garden, you know you’ve made it. You’ve done something," Rucker raves in an interview with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.
The 46-date tour — Hootie & the Blowfish's first in 10 years — keeps them on the road throughout spring and into late summer. They'll hit several major venues along the way, including the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nashville's Bridgestone Arena and the historic Iowa State Fair. The tour culminates with back-to-back performances in their home city of Columbia, S.C., at the Colonial Life Arena, where the tour wraps on Sept. 13.
Fellow '90s rock band Barenaked Ladies are set as the opening act for the duration of the tour.
The reunion tour aligns with the 25th anniversary of the band's groundbreaking debut album Cracked Rear View that includes defining hits "Only Wanna Be With You," "Hold My Hand" and "Let Her Cry." The group is currently working on a new album under Rucker's label, Universal Music Group Nashville, that's expected to be released in the summer.
"For us making a record, we are not doing it for us. We are doing it for those people that planned their vacations around the Hootie & the Blowfish tour," Rucker says. "When we play 'Hold My Hand' or we play 'Let Her Cry' or we play 'Only Want to Be with You,' to hear that crowd? I'll play it every day. To still be doing that for 30 years? It's all gravy. I want to be there and do it just because we can."