As a summer of sold-out shows celebrated by fans and critics alike nears its celebratory three-night U.S. finale in Columbia, S.C., the band Billboard praises as “back and better than ever” will continue the excitement into the fall with today’s announcement of Imperfect Circle, the first new album from Hootie & the Blowfish in nearly 15 years.
Due out November 1st on Universal Music Group’s Capitol Nashville imprint, the album is available for pre-order today.
“There’s something timeless about their sound,” proclaimed USA Today in a story breaking the news of the album. “From their stupendous 1994 debut Cracked Rear View, which is certified 21x Platinum (equivalent to 21 million certified units sold), to their anticipated reunion album, Imperfect Circle…Hootie & the Blowfish appear ready to pick up where they left off as a pop music phenomenon. Yet they haven’t forgotten where they began because, really, they never left that place.”
Despite a decade-long hiatus that followed their initial wave of success punctuated only by occasional charity shows, the band’s return to the spotlight with this year’s Group Therapy Tour has brought out the “highest attendance figures of their career,” according to Billboard’s Boxscore, proving that the two-time GRAMMY Award winners have withstood the test of time.
“Whatever the descriptive shorthand used — roots rock, alt-country, jangle-pop or country-rock — Hootie and the Blowfish’s material has aged extraordinarily well, fond remembrances aside,” noted the Dallas Observer at a recent show, proclaiming that “the honey-voiced Rucker is still, 25 years on, one of the best singers in any genre, full stop.”
“Rucker has — no exaggeration — one of the great voices in contemporary pop music, a dynamic and sophisticated baritone that’s full of gravity,” agreed the New York Times in a June Arts & Leisure cover story after sitting in on the recording process for Imperfect Circle. “The rest of the band makes spry work of otherwise staid idioms. Bryan is a patient decorator with guitar, never overpowering an arrangement, and as a rhythm section, Felber and Sonefeld are insistent but amiable.”
Following the nostalgic summer tour, fans now eager to hear new music by the iconic band can get early access to a first track called “Rollin’” available exclusively at www.Hootie.com, before it becomes available for purchase and streaming on September 6th.
Remaining Group Therapy Tour Dates
August 8 Columbia, Md. | Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 9 Canandaigua, N.Y. | Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center
August 10 New York, N.Y. | Madison Square Garden
August 11 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 11 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
September 12 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
September 13 Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
October 4 Dublin, Ireland | 3Arena
October 6 Bristol, England | O2 Academy
October 7 Leeds, England | O2 Academy
October 9 Glasgow, Scotland | Barrowland
October 10 Glasgow, Scotland | Barrowland
October 12 London, England | Eventim Apollo
October 15 Manchester, England | O2 Apollo
October 16 Birmingham, England | O2 Academy
For more information, visit www.hootie.com or follow on Facebook @hootieandtheblowfish, Twitter @HootieTweets and Instagram @hootieofficial.
About Hootie & the Blowfish
With the rich, bluesy vocals of Darius Rucker and gleeful harmonies of guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, Hootie & the Blowfish have sold over 25 million records worldwide to date after their infectious melodies hit the airwaves in 1994 with hits such as “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”
The quartet met at the University of South Carolina where endless gigs at frat houses and local bars built a major local buzz. Their blend of pop, folk, blues, soul and rock made them hard to pigeonhole, but easily accessible to anyone who loved good music.
Atlantic Records, impressed by their regional draw, signed them and released Cracked Rear View in 1994. The album had been out for six months before the band played on the Late Show with David Letterman which sent sales skyrocketing, eventually landing at No. 1 on the Billboard chart the following spring. Cracked Rear View and the band went on to win two GRAMMY Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and multiple People’s Choice Awards. Cracked Rear View went on to earn the band Billboard‘s Band of the Year Award in 1996 and the RIAA’s Diamond Award for sales in excess of 10 million units. Cracked Rear View remains the 5th most certified studio album in music business history.
The band remained a top draw nationwide and released five more albums for Atlantic: Fairweather Johnson, Musical Chairs, Scattered, Smothered & Covered, Hootie & The Blowfish and The Best of Hootie & The Blowfish, as well as Looking For Lucky on their own Sneaky Long Records and LIVE in Charleston, The Homegrown Concert Event DVD and CD. The band took a break from full-time touring in 2007, reuniting annually for a variety of philanthropic events while also pursuing solo projects. 2019 marked the band’s first full-time touring year in over a decade as they embarked on the Group Therapy Tour ahead of Imperfect Circle, their first album in nearly 15 years due out November 1 under a new record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville.
For audio from the band on the album title, click here.
