NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Hootie & the Blowfish today (Dec. 3) announced that they will be hitting the road on 44-city tour come 2019.
The ‘Group Therapy Tour,’ which will feature direct support from special guests Barenaked Ladies, will kick off May 30 in Virginia Beach, Virginia and wrap up September 13 with a Columbia, South Carolina homecoming.
Formed by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, the band first got together while students at the University of South Carolina.
Reflecting on the band’s beginnings, Rucker who, in the 10+ year break since the band’s last formal tour and nearly 15 years since their last studio album, has charted nine No. 1 singles on Country radio, said: “Once the four of us met and started playing shows, we toured for years before signing a record deal.”
“Having those shows at fraternity houses, clubs and dive bars under our belt prepared us for success to a degree,” continues Felber. “It’s something we’re proud of – that we put in the work – but what matters to me the most is that we’re still a band all these years later. We’ve never stopped being a band.”
“We were content playing clubs and small theaters, so playing to three-, four- and five-times that size was incredible, and we’re looking forward to that feeling again on this tour,” Sonefeld echoes.
“There’s nothing like playing music live,” adds Bryan. “For the first time in nearly 20 years we’ll be coming back to Columbia, South Carolina where it all began.”
In addition to their forthcoming tour, the band will also release a sixth studio album under new label home Universal Music Group Nashville to coincide with the 25th anniversary of their 21x Platinum debut album Cracked Rear View.
Tickets for Hootie & The Blowfish’s ‘Group Therapy Tour’ go on sale to the general public this Friday, December 7 at www.LiveNation.com.
Hootie & The Blowfish ‘Group Therapy Tour’:
| May 30 | Virginia Beach, Va. | Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater |
| May 31 | Raleigh, N.C. | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek |
| June 1 | Atlanta, Ga. | Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood |
| June 6 | Orange Beach, Ala. | The Wharf |
| June 7 | Tampa, Fla. | MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre |
| June 8 | West Palm Beach, Fla. | Coral Sky Amphitheatre |
| June 13 | Austin, Texas | Austin360 Amphitheater |
| June 14 | Houston, Texas | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman |
| June 15 | Dallas, Texas | Dos Equis Pavilion |
| June 19 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Ak-Chin Pavilion |
| June 21 | Chula Vista, Calif. | North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre |
| June 22 | Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena |
| June 23 | Irvine, Calif. | FivePoint Amphitheatre presented by Mercury Insurance |
| June 25 | Los Angeles, Calif. | Hollywood Bowl |
| June 28 | Wheatland, Calif. | Toyota Amphitheatre |
| June 29 | Mountain View, Calif. | Shoreline Amphitheatre |
| July 11 | Englewood, Colo. | Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre |
| July 13 | Maryland Heights, Mo. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre |
| July 14 | Rogers, Ark. | Walmart AMP |
| July 19 | Monticello, Iowa | Great Jones County Fair |
| July 20 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverbend Music Center |
| July 21 | Burgettstown, Penn. | KeyBank Pavilion |
| July 26 | Cleveland, Ohio | Blossom Music Center |
| July 27 | Bristow, Va. | Jiffy Lube Live |
| July 28 | Camden, N.J. | BB&T Pavilion |
| August 2 | Guilford, N.H. | Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion |
| August 3 | Mansfield, Mass. | Xfinity Center |
| August 4 | Saratoga Springs, N.Y. | Saratoga Performing Arts Center |
| August 8 | Columbia, Md. | Merriweather Post Pavilion |
| August 9 | Canandaigua, N.Y. | Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center: CMAC |
| August 10 | New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden |
| August 16 | Detroit, Mich. | DTE Energy Music Theatre |
| August 17 | Noblesville, Ind. | Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center |
| August 18 | Des Moines, Iowa | Iowa State Fair |
| August 22 | St. Paul, Minn. | Minnesota State Fair |
| August 23 | East Troy, Wis. | Alpine Valley Music Theatre |
| August 24 | Tinley Park, Ill. | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre |
| August 29 | Toronto, Ont. | Budweiser Stage |
| August 30 | Hershey, Penn. | Hersheypark Stadium |
| August 31 | Hartford, Conn. | XFINITY Theatre |
| September 5 | Charlotte, N.C. | PNC Music Pavilion |
| September 6 | Birmingham, Ala. | Oak Mountain Amphitheatre |
| September 7 | Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena |
| September 13 | Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena |
