Hootie & The Blowfish

Formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986, Hootie & The Blowfish has enduringly united Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim Sonefeld around an accessible American rock that blends pop rock, roots rock, soft rock and hints of jangle pop, with an anchor inherited from the late 1980s college rock scene. The band first built itself in bars and fraternities around the University of South Carolina, before releasing the EP Kootchypop in 1993 and then signing with Atlantic. Hootie & The Blowfish rose to prominence in the mid-1990s with Cracked Rear View (1994), followed by Fairweather Johnson (1996), in a register that favors bright guitars, melodic choruses and Rucker's deep voice, distant from the grunge then dominant. The rest of their journey includes Musical Chairs (1998), the compilation Scattered, Smothered and Covered (2000), the album Hootie & The Blowfish (2003), Looking for Lucky (2005), then a pause from 2008, during which Darius Rucker developed his solo career. Reforming for live performance from 2018 onward, Hootie & The Blowfish returned with Imperfect Circle in 2019 and since then have resumed regular touring, preserving this blend of softened Southern rock, adult pop and straightforward songwriting that defined their identity.