Three-time GRAMMY Award winner Darius Rucker hits the road this summer with his 20-city Songs of Summer Tour, bringing his signature baritone voice and fan-favorite hits to amphitheaters and iconic venues nationwide. The 2026 trek will make a stop in Cincinnati, OH at Riverbend Music Center on Friday, June 26 featuring special guests Lauren Alaina and Austin Williams.
“For me, it’s not summer if we’re not playing music outdoors,” says Rucker. “When I think of the concerts I love attending, it’s the people, the hits and the hot summer air… there’s nothing that compares, so Songs of Summer in a lot of ways is my nod to being in that moment together.”
Rucker also recently announced a one-night-only Big Band Gala at Charleston’s Gaillard Center on April 7. Presented by Explore Charleston, the performance offers fans a rare opportunity to experience Rucker in an elevated, intimate concert setting backed by Robert Lewis and the Charleston Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Peter Graves. A portion of proceeds will benefit the CMA Foundation’s music education initiatives for Charleston County Schools and the Carolyn G. Rucker Nursing Scholarship at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (22x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012, and he won his third career GRAMMY Award in 2014 for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. His latest album Carolyn’s Boy is available everywhere now as is his New York Times bestselling memoir “Life’s Too Short,” released via Dey Street in 2024.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has raised over $5.1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius and Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. In addition, Rucker has advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tenn. Rucker is also an avid sports fan, with his Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics line of NFL, MLB, NHL and NCAA apparel available via Fanatics.com, and he is part of the Music City Baseball investment group working to bring an MLB team to Tennessee in addition to serving as a partner at the MGC Sports & Entertainment agency.
