‘Hootie’ star plays Tin Roof, Garnet Way, sings national anthem at game
The party got started on Friday night as fans packed the Tin Roof parking lot for an evening of country jams. Tickets went on sale three weeks before the show and sold out within a matter of days. While regular price tickets were sold for $30 each through the venue, some fans paid more than double that amount for a chance to see the singer/songwriter in concert. Rucker played for over two hours, bringing out his big solo hits as well as a few Hootie and the Blowfish tunes and a crowd-pleasing cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
“It was a great atmosphere,” said fourth-year public relations student Jill Shepard, who snagged a front row spot at Friday night’s show. “It was a lot more intimate than other shows I’ve been to because he has that Columbia connection.”
But the fun didn’t stop there. After the Gamecock football team headed into the stadium Saturday morning, an announcer came over the speakers in the Gamecock Village to introduce Rucker. The show was a big surprise for USC fans and the announcer’s voice sent them running toward the stage. The country crooner played a short set, kicking things off with radio hit “Alright” off the singer’s 2008 album “Learn to Live.” The tailgate show also included a little Hootie, as Rucker threw a solo version of “Only Wanna Be With You” into the set as well as a cover of a South Carolina favorite, Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel.”
Rucker then took to the field and sang the national anthem before the game.
Rucker, who was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry earlier this month, released a music video for his new single, “True Believers,” on Friday. The singer plans to release his third solo album in early 2013.