Darius Rucker has been one of the most popular artists among UK country fans ever since the release of his 2008 album ‘Learn To Live’. Since then he’s racked up a further six studio albums – most recently ‘Carolyn’s Boy’, released last year and named in tribute to his late mother – as well as scoring nine Country Airplay chart number one singles and performing around the world. Now, after his headline set at C2C in 2022, he’s back on this side of the pond for the latest leg of his Starting Fires Tour, including a sold-out stop last night at London’s Hammersmith Apollo.
After an intro featuring a medley of songs by UK artists, including Adele’s ‘Set Fire To The Rain’, Rucker arrived on stage shortly before 9 PM with his seven-piece band to huge cheers and clad in a T-shirt representing his beloved South Carolina Gamecocks. He opened his set with ‘Have A Good Time’ from ‘Carolyn’s Boy’, which made for a perfect start to the night with its bright fiddle line and mellow rollicking vibe that matched perfectly with the depth and richness of his vocal. Throughout the song he could be seen waving into cameras and working the crowd as he strutted across the stage and stamped his feet, and it was impossible not to smile as you saw the enormous grin on his face.
Unsurprisingly tracks from ‘Carolyn’s Boy’ were peppered throughout the next hour and 45 minutes of music, whether that was the surfy vibe of ‘Beers And Sunshine’ or Rucker showing off his sultry side on ‘Fires Don’t Start Themselves’ (which this tour takes its name from). However, in a back catalogue packed with hits the way Rucker’s is, what struck me is how effortlessly they slotted in – it feels like they’ve been part of his show for years, and it’s a real testament to Rucker’s ability as a performer that he was able to make them such seamless additions.However, there was still plenty of space for that back catalogue, running the gamut from hitting some massive notes in ‘Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It’. He also threw in a few of his trademark covers, taking us ‘back to a place we call the 90s’ with his mashup of ‘I Like It, I Love It’, ‘Waterfalls’ and ‘Poison’ and bringing out opener Tyler Booth for a barnstorming take on ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, as well as some of his hits from his previous musical life as part of Hootie and the Blowfish. The latter were among some of my favourite points in the set, particularly ‘Let Her Cry’ with its acoustic intro that built up layers of instruments before dropping away and putting the emphasis firmly on Rucker’s powerful vocals, and the raucous singalong he led on the anthemic ‘Hold My Hand’.
One thing which really stood out to me throughout the night was the strength of Rucker’s connection with the audience. Throughout the night he could be seen encouraging them to clap and join in, such as on the soaring ‘True Believers, as well as frequently breaking off to toss picks into the crowd, jam out with his band or tell stories about his past visits to London. It’s the most animated and energetic performance I’ve seen from him (his dancing and spinning around the stage during a joyous rendition of ‘This’ being a particular standout moment) and feels like the more he comes back here the more comfortable he gets with performing in front of UK audiences. He frequently paused to thank the crowd, telling them “this is a dream” before his rendition of the frank, honest ‘If I Told You’, and it was clear that the feeling was very much mutual.
That said, many of my highlights from the evening came when Rucker chose to change things up. ‘For The First Time’ was a great early example of this, with its rocky dramatic intro, whilst ‘Come Back Song’ featured a lively mandolin opening and ‘Radio’ had a funky gospel-influenced feel. Elsewhere, his solo piano-led performance of ‘History In The Making’ gave him a chance to show the belt and gravel in his voice, along with some impressive vocal runs, whilst ‘It Won’t Be Like This For Long’ provided a tender moment of calm. I also loved his performance of ‘Alright’, which drew the biggest cheer of the main set – at least until he followed up with ‘Hold My Hand’, which had the entire room up on their feet and swaying and singing along – which had a real sense of celebration and made you feel that, at least for three minutes, all was right with the world.
After a slinky, playful rendition of ‘Homegrown Honey’ before being played off stage to the Doobie Brothers’ ‘Listen To The Music’, Rucker and his band left the stage briefly to enormous cheers and applause before returning for their four-song encore. They opened with a bluesy take on the Zutons’ ‘Valerie’, which Rucker described as ‘my jam’, before playing current single ‘Never Been Over’ which had plenty of country twang and warm vocals from Rucker. Next up was a cover of ‘Champagne Supernova’, which saw Rucker whipping up the crowd and encouraging them to sing along at full volume (which they did in spades) and wave their hands in the air. To close, he performed ‘Wagon Wheel’, which included a blistering fiddle solo and a fantastic acapella finale which led into the crowd singing the last chorus alone. As the song came to a close you could see Rucker roaring with joy and the audience responded with absolutely thunderous applause – I think it’s the longest I’ve heard so far this year! Rucker took off his baseball cap and held it aloft as he departed the stage and the crowd could be heard singing ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ as we were exiting the venue.
Overall Darius Rucker delivered an absolutely brilliant set that showed he’s definitely still got it as a performer. With top notch vocals, a mesmerising stage presence and a sense of fun that ran throughout his set, he brought a slice of sunshine to London and kept the entire crowd entertained and energised. The only minor flaw was that sometimes it felt like the sound balance wasn’t quite right and he was slightly drowned out by his (excellent) band. But overall it was a truly great night and I’m sure he’ll be heading back over here again before too long!
Set list: 1. Have A Good Time 2. Beers And Sunshine 3. For The First Time 4. Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It 5. Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash cover) (with Tyler Booth) 6. Fires Don’t Start Themselves 7. It Won’t Be Like This For Long 8. This 9. Let Her Cry (made famous by Hootie and the Blowfish) 10. I Like It I Love It / Waterfalls / Poison (Tim McGraw / TLC / Bell Biv DeVoe cover) 11. Come Back Song 12. History In The Making 13. True Believers 14. If I Told You 15. Radio 16. Hold My Hand (made famous by Hootie and the Blowfish) 17. Alright 18. Only Wanna Be With You (made famous by Hootie and the Blowfish) 19. Homegrown Honey Encore: 20. Valerie (The Zutons cover) 21. Never Been Over 22. Champagne Supernova (Oasis cover) 23. Wagon Wheel (made famous by Old Crow Medicine Show) Performance date: 3rd May 2024
See Darius Rucker live in the UK and Ireland this month:
Sunday 5 May – O2 Academy, Leeds
Monday 6 May – O2 Academy, Glasgow
Thursday 9 May – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
Saturday 11 May – Waterfront Hall Auditorium, Belfast
