Darius Rucker rocks out during country-heavy set at American Express golf tournament show

Even though Darius Rucker is known as the frontman of the ‘90s alternative band Hootie and the Blowfish, he’s getting back to that other thing he does: country music.

Rucker last toured solo in 2022, playing the Festival of the Lakes in Hammond, Indiana; the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles; and a New Year’s Eve show in Nashville, Tennessee, at Jason Aldean’s Kitchen and Rooftop Bar. He’s keeping the momentum going in 2023 and performed Saturday at the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta.

Lynn Stoller of Indio, who also attended Gwen Stefani's Friday concert at the tournament, was sitting in a grassy area on Saturday afternoon as her granddaughter sought autographs from the golfers. She said it's "awesome" Rucker can combine his passions for music and golf in a local setting.

"I think the Coachella Valley does a great job of bringing entertainment in all forms. We live here full time, so I love all the opportunities that are here and think it's fabulous," Stoller said.

Even though Steve Roller is a PGA West resident, he's not a "golf fanatic" and the only reason he attends the tournament is for the concerts. While standing on the barricade in front of the stage, Roller said Rucker's style of country is "relatable to people of all ages."

"You don't have to be a diehard country western fan," Roller said. "I like the fact (The American Express) has a different variety of music and hopefully by having younger artists and more traditional (musicians), people who are here are not only being exposed to the concerts, but hopefully realize there's a PGA West golf tournament too. Even though you could sit in your living room or watch it on the Golf Channel, it's different when you're actually here."

The set was heavy on the country

Rucker performed a country-packed set starting off with "Alright" and asked the crowd "Any Southerners here tonight?" with a light response while performing "Southern State of Mind." Some of the other country songs were "This," "For the First Time" and "Beers and Sunshine."

The set was light on the Hootie and the Blowfish songs, but did include "Let Her Cry," Hold My Hand" and "Only Wanna Be With You" thrown in the mix. But there were also some attention-grabbing covers, such as John Mellencamp’s heartland rock anthem “Pink Houses” and Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” merged with ‘90s R&B group Blackstreet’s “No Diggity."

It's not surprising Rucker included many covers, because his biggest hit as a solo artist was the Old Crow Medicine Show song “Wagon Wheel,” which was the last song of the set.

Playing a golf tournament isn't new to Rucker — he plays regularly and has a golf handicap of 4. Hootie and the Blowfish also hosts the annual "Monday After the Masters" event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, following the Masters Tournament. He also hosts the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Golf Tournament at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and is a brand ambassador for the PGA Tour.

Several rock musicians such as Bret Michaels of Poison, Chris Shiftlett of the Foo Fighters, Cyndi Lauper and Aaron Lewis of the band Staind have ventured into country music on the side. Even though Stoller said she's ready to "move on" from the repetitiveness of "Wagon Wheel," she enjoys Hootie and the Blowfish and Rucker as a solo artist.

"It's interesting how a lot of artists are crossing over, so why not?" Stoller said.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Darius Rucker rocks out to small crowd at American Express tournament