Hootie and the Blowfish – Group Therapy Tour.

A wave of excitement surrounds the band's first full tour in over a decade with new music under a new record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville. 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 sold over 25 million records worldwide 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.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that Hootie & The Blowfish became an overnight success in 1994 when their debut album Cracked Rear View, moved over 16 million copies (and counting) in the US alone. What most people don't know was that the album's triumph came after a decade of hard work. The quartet met while attending the University of South Carolina in Columbia in the late 1980's. New freshman Mark Bryan heard Darius Rucker singing in the showers of the dorm they shared and was impressed by his vocal ability. Bryan and Rucker began playing cover tunes as The Wolf Brothers and eventually hooked up with Dean Felber, a former high school bandmate of Bryan's, and Brantley Smith as Hootie & The Blowfish. (The unlikely moniker was borrowed from the nicknames of two college friends.) When Smith's true passion called him home to Greenville, SC in 1989, Bryan reached out to classmate Jim (Soni) Sonefeld to join the band and the immediate chemistry was undeniable!

By the time they graduated, endless gigs at frat parties and local bars had built a major local buzz. “We'd started adding original material to our repertoire,” Bryan recalled. “Our songs went over well, so we decided to see if we could make a career out of it. Even if we hadn't had a hit, I know we'd still be making music today, because it's exactly what we want to be doing.”