Thirty years after Hootie and the Blowfish took home Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist at the 1996 American Music Awards, the band returned to the AMAs Monday night, playing a medley of “Hold My Hand” into “Only Wanna Be With You.” Onstage was the same lineup who made their 1994 breakthrough album, Cracked Rear View: frontman Darius Rucker, guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber, and drummer Jim Sonefeld.
Opening with “Hold My Hand,” Rucker had the room on their feet as he crooned in his signature baritone and strummed his acoustic guitar. The band kept the good vibes coming as they segued to “Only Wanna Be With You,” which kept the crowd going with its jangly guitar riffs and tambourine. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen were seen smiling from ear to ear, as were girl group Katseye and country singer Riley Green.
Later in the evening, Rucker received the Veterans Voice Award, a USAA-sponsored honor given to musicians who have worked on behalf of veterans and their families. Zac Brown received the same award last year.
“All of us can use our voices to support these brave men and women who are serving our country,” Rucker said. “I was talking to a member once and he said to me that when somebody says to him ‘thank you for your service,’ he says ‘thank you for living a life worth serving’ … We should be striving to live, to become a community, become a country that we deserve what they sacrifice.”
After years on hiatus as Rucker became a solo country star, the band reunited in 2019 for a tour and album, and toured again in 2024. They also performed at this year’s Stagecoach festival. Rucker, who released a single last year with his Howl Owl Howl supergroup (with R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman), told the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast last year that he wasn’t focused on the band.
“Every time I played with Hootie, in ’19 and two years ago, it’s because I thought the fans wanted it,” Rucker said. “It’s not because I wanted to. I wasn’t dying to go play with Blowfish. I wasn’t dying to take a huge pay cut, but you know, the fans wanted it.” Rucker also said the band’s Stagecoach performance would be the last show for quite a while, but he softened on that, adding the AMAs appearance and several other festival dates.
At the 1996 AMAs, Hootie beat out both Alanis Morissette and Blues Traveler for their award, and went on to win Best New Artist at that year’s Grammys, as well.
