Hootie And The Blowfish – Summer Camp With Trucks Tour

Hootie And The Blowfish – Summer Camp With Trucks Tour

Hootie & the Blowfish flipped the script on the conventional notion of college rock. During the 1980s, when the group cut their teeth along the Eastern Seaboard, college rock belonged to the arty rockers who resided at the left of the dial. Hootie’s four members were raised on these sounds, showing a particular affection for R.E.M. and their jangle-pop heirs, but the band streamlined and straightened that chime, making straight-ahead music ideal for house parties, tailgates, and sports bars.

Surprisingly, this formula turned Hootie & the Blowfish into superstars. Part of the reason for their breakthrough was Darius Rucker, who sang with a soulful gusto unfamiliar to other college rockers; he gave the band a focal point, so much so that some casual fans assumed his nickname was Hootie. Cracked Rear View, the band’s 1994 debut, racked up hit after hit, and while they didn’t manage to replicate that blockbuster status, their star never diminished. Hootie paid their good fortune forward, cutting songs by their college rock peers and thereby giving them a path toward royalties. While this music defined the mid-’90s mainstream in the wake of alt-rock, it proved enduring: When the group reunited to celebrate their 25th anniversary, they found an audience waiting to party like it was 1994.

About Collective Soul

When Seattle grunge went mainstream, it was only a matter of time before the ripple effect spread to regions other than the Pacific Northwest. The Georgia-based quintet Collective Soul developed the genre into a succinct type of angst, turning the sonic cacophony of grunge into radio-friendly hard rock. After rising to popularity with their debut album, 1994’s Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid, the band enjoyed a number of hit singles during the ’90s, including “Shine,” “The World I Know,” and “December.” As the nu-metal scene increased in popularity and threatened Collective Soul’s audience, the group began experimenting with their sound, but returned to their rockier roots with 2004’s Youth. From that point forward, Collective Soul worked steadily, balancing touring with new albums that eventually setting up their own indie imprint called Fuzze-Flex where they released such vigorous albums as 2022’s Vibrating.

About Edwin McCain

A rootsy singer/songwriter whose music is also influenced by jazz and soul, Edwin McCain hails from Charleston, South Carolina, and was born on January 20, 1970. McCain’s father, a doctor, was involved in the music program at the local Episcopal church, and the young Edwin got his start in music singing in the church choir. Growing up, McCain was interested in vintage soul and R&B (including Wilson Pickett, Marvin Gaye, and Earth, Wind & Fire) as well as classic rock (particularly Van Halen, Kiss, and Queen). After making friends with a musician who introduced him to jazz fusion acts such as Weather Report and Jaco Pastorius, McCain developed a keen interest in songwriting, and he began playing out as a solo act.

While playing bars throughout the South, McCain developed a loyal following, and crossed paths with another up-and-coming South Carolina act, Hootie & the Blowfish. McCain displayed a work ethic similar to Hootie’s, bringing out a pair of self-released albums (1991’s Nomadic Logic and 1993’s Solitude) and playing as many as 300 dates in a year. McCain’s dynamic band (anchored by lead guitarist Larry Chaney) gained respect and support slots for similarly minded artists like Hootie, Jewel, and even the Allman Brothers. When Hootie landed a deal with Atlantic Records and enjoyed massive chart success with their major-label debut, Cracked Rear View, in 1994, they persuaded Atlantic’s Lava subsidiary to take a chance on McCain.