Review: DARIUS RUCKER'S SONGS OF SUMMER TOUR at Acrisure Amphitheater

We were lucky enough to see Darius Rucker in concert at his Grand Rapids, Michigan, stop on his Songs of Summer Tour. Darius is an award-winning country singer, 3-time GRAMMY winner, and double RIAA Diamond-certified frontman for Hootie & the Blowfish. He's been named a GQ Man of the Year and is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Bringing his signature baritone voice and fan-favorite hits to amphitheaters and iconic venues nationwide. Promoted by Live Nation, the 2026 trek features special guests Lauren Alaina, George Birge, Evan Honer, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Randolph, and Austin Williams joining select dates.

“For me, it’s not summer if we’re not playing music outdoors,” says Rucker. “When I think of the concerts I love attending, it’s the people, the hits, and the hot summer air… there’s nothing that compares, so Songs of Summer in a lot of ways is my nod to being in that moment together.”

Austin Williams and Laurin Alana were the guests on the Grand Rapids stop.   Austin started the evening out with a wonderful 30-minute set, and I can’t wait to see where he goes in the future.    

Lauren Alaina, praised by Rolling Stone for her “powerhouse, honey-toned vocals that meld timeless twang with modern sass,” continues her “limitless upward trajectory” (American Songwriter) as one of country music’s most magnetic entertainers. Her forthcoming new album, Stages, due out August 28, builds on the momentum of the smash “All My Exes (feat. Chase Matthew)” that marked the biggest first-week streaming numbers of her career. A dynamic live act, she will support Darius Rucker on his Songs of Summer Tour this year, along with various festivals. A proud member of the Grand Ole Opry since 2022, Alaina has earned three No. 1 hits: Platinum-certified “Road Less Traveled,” the 4x Platinum “ONE BEER” with HARDY and Devin Dawson, and Diamond-certified “What Ifs” with Kane Brown. With “What Ifs,” Alaina became the only solo female country artist in history to receive the RIAA’s Diamond song certification. The vocalist has performed on some of the highest-profile stages in the world including PBS’ A Capitol Fourth, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, CBS’ Beyond The Edge, ABC’s The Bachelorette, TODAY, Good Morning America, The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, ABC’s CMA Fest specials, CMA and ACM Awards, Nickelodeon’s All That, Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day halftime performance, MLB’s World Series national anthem performance, a performance at the White House for President Obama, and more.    

Laurin Alana took the stage for a wonderfully put-together set, singing some of her most popular hits, and others, including: “I’m Here for the Party”, “What Ifs”, and“Road Less Traveled”. I can’t wait to see more of her, and hopefully a headlining tour coming back very soon with a lot more music!

 Photo Coverage From Austin Williams and Lauren Alaina @ Acrisure Amphitheater

Darius Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, including their Double Diamond-certified (22x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum, or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012, and he won his third career GRAMMY Award in 2014 for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. His latest album, Carolyn’s Boy, is available everywhere now, as is his New York Times bestselling memoir “Life’s Too Short,” released via Dey Street in 2024.

As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C., and has raised over $5.1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius and Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. In addition, Rucker has advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tenn. Rucker is also an avid sports fan, with his Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics line of NFL, MLB, NHL and NCAA apparel available via Fanatics.com, and he is part of the Music City Baseball investment group working to bring an MLB team to Tennessee in addition to serving as a partner at the MGC Sports & Entertainment agency. 

I was fortunate enough to see and work a show when Darius first reintroduced himself as a Country artist at a small acoustic concert. Darius Rucker played the 107 MUS The Moose (WMUS) concert in Muskegon, Michigan, in 2013 shortly after he transitioned to country music, acting as a headliner for the radio station's acoustic summer concert series at Heritage Landing.  So I was so excited to get to come out to see him again, and the entertainment factor only grew, and I even got to see some of the songs that he was introducing back on that stage!   “First Time,” “Home Grown”, “Come Back Song”, “ All Night Long”,  and “Alright”.

Another highlight was a 90’s country medley when he brought Laurin Alana back out to join for  A classic country duet from Johnny Cash and June Carter in 1967, Jackson, and closed out the night with one of his songs he introduced at that acoustic show back in 2013, “Wagon Wheel”.  It was a great night, and I look forward to seeing Darius again down the road. It’s been so fun watching his career in the country music scene take off!

Photo Coverage From Darius Rucker @Acrisure Amplitheater

For all things Laurin Alana, follow on social media: on Instagram at instagram.com/laurenalaina/, on Facebook at facebook.com/LaurenAlaina, on YouTube at @laurenalaina, on X at @Lauren_Alaina, and online at https://www.laurenalaina.com/home/.

For complete tour information and all things Darius Rucker, follow on social media: on Instagram at instagram.com/dariusrucker/, on Facebook at facebook.com/dariusrucker, on YouTube at youtube.com/dariusrucker, on X at @Dariusrucker, and online at www.DariusRucker.com.

For all things Acrisure Amphitheater, follow on social media: on Instagram at instagram.com/acrisureamphitheater/, on Facebook at facebook.com/acrisureamphitheatergr, on YouTube at youtube.com/@AcrisureAmphitheater, on X at @AcrisureAmp, and online at https://www.acrisureamphitheater.com/.

For more opportunities to see the Songs of Summer Tour, check out the dates below:

July 16 | Washington, D.C. | The Theater at MGM National Harbor | Austin Williams *

July 17 | Bridgeport, Conn. | Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater | Robert Randolph, Austin Williams *

July 18 | Boston, Mass. | Leader Bank Pavilion | Robert Randolph, Austin Williams *

July 23 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Arizona Financial Theatre | Old Crow Medicine Show, Austin Williams +

July 24 | Albuquerque, N.M. | First Financial Credit Union Amphitheater | Old Crow Medicine Show, Austin Williams *

July 25 | Morrison, Colo. | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Old Crow Medicine Show, Austin Williams *

July 30 | Rogers, Ark. | Walmart AMP | Evan Honer, Austin Williams *

July 31 | Kansas City, Mo. | Starlight Theatre | Evan Honer, Austin Williams ^

August 1 | Indianapolis, Ind. | Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park | Evan Honer, Austin Williams

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