BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A three-time Grammy Award-winning country music singer will return to Bethlehem's Musikfest to headline the music festival for the fourth time, it was announced Monday.
Darius Rucker, who has had almost as successful a solo career as he had as frontman of Hootie and The Blowfish in the 1990s, will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 3, making him the second headliner announced for Musikfest’s 42nd year.
Rucker last played Musikfest in 2021, after a show scheduled for 2020 was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tickets, at $49-$119, go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3 to ArtsQuest members and 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 6 to the public at www.musikfest.org and 610-332-3378.Musikfest.org
Tickets, at $49-$119, go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3 to ArtsQuest members and 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 6 to the public at www.musikfest.org and 610-332-3378.
Musikfest will run Aug. 1-10, with a preview night July 31, in downtown Bethlehem and the SteelStacks campus in South Bethlehem.
The announcement means people can buy tickets in time for Christmas presents, and purchase them at the box office at ArtsQuest Center during ArtsQuest’s Christkindlmarkt, Thursdays-Sundays through Dec. 22 at SteelStacks.
Previously announced as Musikfest headliner for Aug. 1 was country singer Riley Green. Tickets for his show remain available at the Musikfest website.
Rucker sold out shows as a Musikfest headliner in 2013 and 2015 — in both years giving Musikfest its only headliner sellout.
New album on the way
Rucker has a new album, "Carolyn's Boy," set to be released Oct. 6 as his first solo album in six years.
The first single from the album, "Beers and Sunshine," released in 2020, sold gold and hit No. 1 on the Country Radio chart.
A new song, “Have A Good Time,” is out now. His previous single, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” released last year, peaked at No. 25 on the charts at Country radio.
After four straight No. 1 Country chart albums, Rucker’s last album, 2017’s “When Was the Last Time,” peaked at No. 2 and gave him two No. 1 hits: the platinum “If I Told You” and “For the First Time.”
Rucker became the first black performer to win the Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year Award in 2009.Country Music Awards records
That gave him five No. 1 hits since his solo debut country album, “Learn to Live” in 2008. That disc sold platinum, with three consecutive No. 1 songs — “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” “Alright” and “It Won’t Be Like This for Long” — and the No. 3 “History in the Making.”
He became the first black performer to win the Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year Award in 2009.
His 2010 sophomore solo disc, “Charleston, SC 1966” also went to No. 1 and achieved gold record status with the No. 1 hits with “Come Back Song” and “This,” both of which also went gold.
His 2013 disc “True Believers” produced the triple-platinum, No.1 hit “Wagon Wheel” and another Top 5 song, “Radio.”
“Wagon Wheel” won the Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance in 2014, making Rucker just the third black person to win a Grammy vocal performance award in a country music category.
He also released a Christmas disc, “Home for the Holidays,” in 2014 that peaked at No. 3 on the Country chart.
Success with Hootie & The Blowfish
Hootie and The Blowfish released its last album, “Imperfect Circle,” in 2019. It was the group’s first album in 14 years. It peaked at No. 26 on the overall Albums chart.
Hootie and The Blowfish's 1994 debut album, “Cracked Rear View,” had four Top 15 hits. The album hit No. 1 and sold 16 million copies, making it the 15th-best-selling album of all time.The Recording Industry Association of America
The group's 1994 debut album “Cracked Rear View” had four Top 15 hits. The album hit No. 1 and sold 16 million copies, making it the 15th-best-selling album of all time, with the hits “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”
The band’s sophomore album, “Fairweather Johnson,” in 1996 went triple platinum and hit No. 1, but produced only the minor hit “Old Man & Me (When I Get To Heaven).” A third album, “Musical Chairs,” in 1998 also went platinum.
Hootie & The Blowfish won Grammy Awards in 1996 for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for “Let Her Cry.”
Hootie & The Blowfish sold out Musikfest’s 5,000-seat former Kunstplatz main stage in 26 days in 1999, then returned to play the former 6,500-seat RiverPlace main stage in 2002.
Hootie also played to 5,000 people at the Allentown Fair in a co-headliner show with Counting Crows in 2007.
As a solo artist, Rucker sold out State Theatre in Easton in November 2009, then again in January 2012.
Country continues Musikfest success
Musikfest rarely booked country music acts in its early years. But for the past decade, it has consistently booked country — with success.
Musikfest seemed to turn a corner on country in 2013, when it booked Rucker, who gave the festival its only sellout that year. Then in 2014, country singer Keith Urban also was the only sellout, as well as giving Musikfest its then-earliest sellout (by early February).
in 2023, Musikfest offered three country acts: Marin Morris, Walker Hayes and Dan+Shay. None of those sold out.
Last year, Old Dominion was Musikfest's only country music headliner, and it was among a record four headline shos that sold out at the festival.
