Darius Rucker Brings His “Fire” to Q Casino’s Back Waters Stage

The 2023 Summer Concert Series at Q Casino's Back Waters Stage marches on, with one memorable act after another. Last night, country/rock superstar Darius Rucker took the stage and performed everything from his country hits to Hootie & the Blowfish favorites to a medley of 90s pop and country tunes.

A brief downpour less than two hours before the gates were set to open didn't derail an otherwise calm, overcast evening. Credit is due to the Q Casino and concert staff for acting quickly and informing the public via Facebook that gates would open at 6:45pm as opposed to the originally scheduled 6pm start-time. Opening act Drew Green took the stage at 7:30pm with Rucker following suite at approximately 8:45pm.

Tennessee native and up-and-coming singer-songwriter Drew Green was the first on-stage to perform some songs from his catalog, including his low-key success "This Miller Lite of Mine." My personal favorite was "Colorado," a song he co-wrote with HARDY, which was recorded by Florida Georgia Line for their Can't Say I Ain't Country album several years back.

My girlfriend, Catherine, was especially captivated by the abundance of "dirt" and "dirt road" references in his song "Dirt Boy." That provided a fun source of banter between us that would last the remainder of the concert.

When Darius Rucker took the stage, he immediately launched into his song "Good for a Good Time," setting the mood for exactly that. For over 90 minutes, Rucker played favorites such as "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," "If I Told You," and "Beers and Sunshine," and even pulled some Hootie jams out of the archive, such as "Hold My Hand" (which is absolutely incredible live) and "Only Wanna Be With You."

Much of the VIP and GA crowd was on their feet clapping and singing along to "Alright," one of Rucker's biggest hits on country radio. But there was no one left setting during the three-song encore, with the show concluding with a slightly extended version of "Wagon Wheel," Rucker's massively popular cover of Old Crow Medicine Show's song of the same name.

Darius Rucker's music takes on a new dimension in concert. Live, layered instrumentation results in songs breathing. Plus, Darius himself could sing the phone-book and sound phenomenal. The lighting crew really showed up and showed out for the evening, as songs were enhanced by various techniques that either illuminated the stage or tinted it in a deep blue hue for slower, moodier ballads.

Among Rucker's setlist was a medley of 90s hits, including Tim McGraw's "I Like It, I Love It" and TLC's "Waterfalls."

Next up on Q Casino's agenda is Volbeat, who will be taking the Back Waters Stage on Saturday, July 15th. Tickets are still available on Back Waters Stage's website.