LIVE: Hootie & The Blowfish, Collective Soul + Edwin McCain - "Paltrocast" Exclusive

Photo byLive Nation

In late 2023, it was announced that iconic pop-rock band Hootie & The Blowfish would be returning to the road in 2024 as part of the Summer Camp With Trucks Tour. Produced by Live Nation and featuring special guests Collective Soul and Edwin McCain, the Summer Camp With Trucks Tour kicked off on May 30th in Dallas and is set to wrap on September 28th in West Palm Beach, Florida. Playing to a mix of arenas, amphitheaters and select stadiums, the tour notably played Fenway Park back in June, with Barenaked Ladies also on the billing.

South Carolina's Hootie & The Blowfish remains rooted in its classic lineup all these later: frontman Darius Rucker, lead guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld. To date, Hootie & the Blowfish has sold over 25 million records worldwide, as the band's massive success kicked off exactly 30 years with 1994's Cracked Rear View. Cracked Rear View and the band ultimately went on to win two GRAMMY Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a Billboard Music Award and multiple People's Choice Awards. Cracked Rear View also earned the band Billboard's Band Of The Year Award in 1996 and the RIAA's Diamond Award for sales in excess of 10 million units. At 21x Platinum, Cracked Rear View remains among the Top 10 best-selling studio albums in music history.

The band remained a top draw nationwide following their debut and released five more albums for Atlantic: Fairweather Johnson, Musical Chairs, Scattered, Smothered & Covered, Hootie & The Blowfish, and The Best Of Hootie & The Blowfish. Hootie ultimately took a break from full-time touring in 2007, reuniting annually for a variety of philanthropic events while also pursuing solo projects. 2019 marked the band's first full-time touring year in over a decade as they embarked on the sold-out Group Therapy Tour in support of Imperfect Circle, as released in late 2019 under a new record deal with Universal Music Group’s Capitol Nashville.

Similarly, Atlanta's Collective Soul -- a group which also found its initial success in 1994 while signed to Atlantic Records, which is also believed to have started playing Jones Beach in 1995 -- is also celebrating a 30th anniversary of sorts. With 11 studio albums and a reported eight #1 hits under their belt, Collective Soul remains led by frontman and chief songwriter Ed Roland alongside original members guitarist Dean Roland and bassist Will Turpin; drummer Johnny Rabb and lead guitarist Jesse Triplett have both been in the Collective Soul fold for more than a decade. Collective Soul's most recent studio effort is 2024's Here To Eternity.

Edwin McCain -- believe it or not -- is another former Atlantic Records artist with Southeastern U.S. roots who initially struck it big in the mid-1990s. After a long ride on a wave created by recording two of the biggest love songs in the history of music (“I’ll Be” and “I Could Not Ask For More”) and producing and starring in a TV series (Flippin’ Ships on Animal Planet), McCain slowed his road schedule to dedicate more time to his primary roles as husband and father. Justin Bieber and Charlie Puth are among the notable artists who have covered his hit songs, leading McCain to get back on the road more regularly these days.

The Paltrocast was on-site for the September 5th stop of the Summer Camp With Trucks Tour, which took place at Wantagh, New York's Northwell Health At Jones Beach. Arguably the best concert this writer has seen this summer, the evening provided close to four hours of hits and radio staples. In the case of Hootie & The Blowfish and Collective Soul, both not only performed well-received covers -- including songs by Aerosmith, Tom Waits, R.E.M., AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and the Notorious B.I.G. -- but also brought out Edwin McCain for collaborations. Video embedded above shows some of that Long Island excellence.

Speaking of the Paltrocast, in August Mark Bryan -- as interviewed for this outlet -- released a new solo single, "Ain’t Nothin’ Better," in addition to the just-released "Don't Change A Thing." Set to be part of a full-length album of original songs due out this fall, Popped, Vere Music is the record label behind "Ain't Nothin' Better," "Don't Change A Thing" and these other tracks. Solo career and Hootie aside, Bryan remains active with Carolina Studios, a nonprofit helping educate the next generation of recording engineers, and the College Of Charleston, having served as a professor and artist-in-residence. A Paltrocast interview with Bryan's bandmate Jim "Soni" Sonefeld is also embedded below.