Darius Rucker Shares Country Shift

Darius Rucker photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

May 1, 2009 — Darius Rucker turned a lot of heads when he made the transition last year from pop/rock frontman to country solo singer, but he’s hardly alone in his shift of genres. In fact, he’s not even the only person who got an initial break on the same label.

Hootie + The Blowfish’s pop success came with the Atlantic Records label. The band was signed by the company the very same year as a couple of other artists who are now in country music: Jewel and Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, who was with Billy Pilgrim when he joined the Atlantic roster in the ‘90s.

"I'm so happy for [Kristian] and so proud of him," Darius told Entertainment Weekly. "I've known Kristian for 15 years, and we probably hadn't seen each other in 15 years before Sugarland happened. I always tell people that I knew him when he had hair longer than Jennifer [Nettles]. But you know, if Cracked Rear View came out today, it would have to be a country record."

Darius’ sound is different from what he’s done with Hootie, but it’s not a drastic change of pace. There’s simply not much room anymore in pop radio for bands with a melodic mentality.

"There's U2, there's Nickelback, and a couple other bands when you look in the top 10 records of the week," he said. "The only place in music for the singer-songwriter right now is country music. That sounds rude, because, you know, you can't say that Kanye West is not a singer-songwriter. But if you're the guy who wants to stand up and play the guitar, you gotta be a country singer."

Darius is doing that in a big way. His first two singles hit No. 1, and now he’s ready to tour with Rascal Flatts beginning June 5 in St. Louis. He’ll also be at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville June 11, and he’s set to play the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., June 8 in a benefit concert for wounded veterans. Also on the bill that night: Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Alison Krauss, Mac McAnally and Michael McDonald.