Review | From Hootie & the Blowfish to Hot Diggity Darius

Hootie singing “Purple Rain,” was definitely not on my Bingo card for last weekend’s Darius Rucker show at the Santa Barbara Bowl!

Honestly, my expectations for the show were pretty low. But Rucker — who pivoted away from a successful rock ‘n’ roll career as the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish almost 20 years ago to stake his claim as a country artist — has been leaving people’s expectations in the dust for a while now, so I probably shouldn’t have been surprised at what a thoroughly good time I had.

“When I came to Nashville 18 years ago, I was told by 99 percent of people that I would never make it in country music, and I proved them wrong with this song,” said the good-humored singer as he introduced his breakout song, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” (from his 2008 solo album Learn to Live) to a huge round of applause.  

He’s not kidding when he said the song proved the cynics wrong — it also made Rucker the first new individual Black artist to chart a number one country hit since Charley Pride’s “Night Games,” in 1983. Since then, Rucker’s had enough success in the ensuing years to put him solidly in the country music world, with hits like “Alright,” “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” “It Won’t Be Like This For Long,” “Come Back Song,” “Beers and Sunshine,” and “Homegrown Honey,” all of which he played last weekend.

But rest assured, he may be rooted in the south, but Rucker’s not staying completely in the county music lane.

He gave us a shot of nostalgia with a few favorite Hootie & the Blowfish songs (the band still performs together sometimes), including “Only Wanna Be With You,” “Let Her Cry,” and “Hold My Hand,” and gave a nice shout out to his rock days at the Bowl as well. “This is one of my favorite places to play. I love it here,” he said. “We played here the first time with Toad the Wet Sprocket; always a great time.”

Prince and Toad weren’t the only artists Rucker paid homage to that night. He did a cover of The Doobie Brothers’s “Takin’ It To The Streets,” and talked about how much he likes The Black Crowes as well.

“Good songs are good songs, no matter what category they put them in,” he said, then demonstrated the truth of that statement by covering Paul McCartney and Wings’s “Band on the Run” (perhaps he had an inkling of the Bowl’s super secret plans for McCartney’s visit later this month?), and even a fun version of Blackstreet and Dr. Dre’s “No Diggity,” before ending the night with his Grammy-winning cover of “Wagon Wheel,” (an Old Crow Medicine Show original) and the afore-mentioned “Purple Rain” from the royal genius himself.

No matter what genre or songs he’s singing, Rucker’s soulful baritone, charisma, and stage presence certainly shined through that night. He’ll definitely be on my dance card — and my Bingo card — when he comes through town again.