Sitting in a lawn chair with a perfect view of the Coca-Cola Stage, Chelsey Strutton couldn’t help but feel lucky to have the chance to see one of her favorite artists perform at the Riverbend Festival.
She waited nearly seven months to see Darius Rucker, former lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning group Hootie & The Blowfish, take the stage. When she found out Riverbend was his only show listed in Tennessee, she was happy she took the opportunity to see him live.
“I feel really special,” said the 19-year-old from Chattanooga, who staked out her prime seating spot atop the hillside at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Before the show, Miss Strutton said she hoped Mr. Rucker would play her favorite song from his Hootie days, “Let Her Cry.”
Taking the stage to a packed, cheering audience, Mr. Rucker crooned the crowd, opening with “Forever Road.”
Mr. Rucker’s first solo country album, “Learn to Live,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 2008. He has released four singles from the album — three of which have reached the top spot on the Billboard charts.
“He’s a mix between country and blues,” said fan Casey Riley, 24, of Chattanooga. “He’s not pure country; his music has got a blues-pop twist to it.”
During the show, Mr. Rucker gave the crowd a sneak peek at his new album, to be released in October, by singing “Come Back Song,” and he treated longtime fans to tunes from his days with Hootie & The Blowfish.
“He’s better now since he’s turned country,” said Luke Jones, 41, of Fort Oglethorpe, who has listened to Mr. Rucker’s music since the ’90s. “He just sounds better.”
From their blanket seating spots directly in front of the stage, 19-year-olds Leslie Burns and Caroline Menard said they were excited to have an up-close view of the show. Arriving more than two hours before show time, the pair said they wanted to be close so they could “get the feel of him singing.”
“It would be awesome if he invited us up on to the stage,” Miss Burns said with a laugh, “but I know that would never happen.”
Mr. Rucker will be touring with country artist Brad Paisley through the end of the year.
