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Since Jason Aldean is both a Georgia boy and a lifelong Braves fan, playing Suntrust Park in Atlanta on Saturday is a dream come true.
But as he was planning the bucket-list concert, he got an idea: What if he could convince Darius Rucker to put Hootie & the Blowfish back together for the date?
How did the three-time ACM Entertainer of the Year manage to pull it off?
“I have no idea. I’ll be honest with you…” Jason tells ABC Radio. “Darius and I have been friends for a long time, and he’s one of my favorite guys in town.”
“I knew those guys got back together and would play a show or a couple shows a year, do like benefits and stuff…” Jason continues. “I was just like, ‘Man, maybe it’s not that far-fetched. We can throw it [out there].’ I mean, those guys were the biggest band in the world in the nineties.”
Darius initially hesitated, simply because it’s been a long time since the band has played a venue that large. But Jason wasn’t giving up.
“I was just like, ‘Man, if we could pull this off, this would be amazing,’” he explains. “They’re from South Carolina, which is not too far from Atlanta, and I just felt like that would be a show that people would love to come see. And when Darius and the rest of those guys agreed to do it, it was just like, ‘All right, this is gonna be pretty amazing!’”
“So I can’t wait,” Jason admits. “Getting a chance to play the Atlanta Braves Stadium… is gonna be one of the highlights of my career… I’m glad those guys are getting to come out and be a part of it… It’s gonna be a special night.”
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