Darius Rucker doesn’t hesitate at all when asked to consider the best moments of the past year.

“The highlight of 2021 was getting back on the road,” the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman tells ABC Audio. “You know, after being off for almost two years, actually going out and playing shows again was definitely the highlight of this year.”

In February, the South Carolina native is set to launch his Darius Rucker Live tour of iconic, intimate theaters, building on the intensity he felt from audiences in 2021.

“The fans have always been great, and my shows have always been fun parties and everything,” he explains. “But it just seems like it’s a whole new level now.”

“Everybody’s there to have fun from the first note to the last,” Darius continues. “And you could just tell people were so glad to be back out there seeing shows and being a part of that that, they just want to soak it all in.”

“So, yeah, the fan enthusiasm’s definitely up,” he adds. 

2021 also found Darius topping the charts with his tenth solo number one, “Beers and Sunshine,” which he followed with “My Masterpiece.” Both are from his follow-up to 2017’s When Was the Last Time, which should arrive sometime in 2022.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.