Darius Rucker is returning to rock music with a new supergroup of artists. Rucker is part of a new trio, Howl Owl Howl, along with R.E.M. co-founder Mike Mills, and The Black Crowes’ co-founder and former drummer, Steve Gorman.
“It feels great to be singing with a rock band again. It’s like buddies getting together, but also getting to play with your idols,” Rucker says. “The stuff we’re writing is so different than anything I’ve tried to do before.”
“You never can explain band chemistry,” Mills adds. “We all like each other. And we all admire each other musically. All those things come together and if it weren’t fun, we wouldn’t be doing it.”
Howl Owl Howl’s debut track “My Cologne” arrives October 31. They also just announced a Howl Owl Howl Tour, kicking off on November 3 in Indiana, where anything can happen.
“There’s not a single guarantee. We’re finally going to get to plug in and let it rip a little bit,” Gorman hints.
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What Darius Rucker Says About Joining Howl Owl Howl
Rucker, who now calls London home, is working on another country album, while also spending time with Mills and Gorman on new Howl Owl Howl music.
“We’ll put out a record here soon that’s just straight rock n’ roll,” Rucker tells Holler. “The first time one of my buddies listened to it, they said, ‘If this was 1998, this would be Album of the Year…!’ I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re right!’ It’s a great record. Moving [to London], I got away from the mindset of, ‘Okay, I gotta rush this record.’ We were going to try to rush to get it out in August…but we were like, ‘Let’s do it in January’. I’ve decided to really take my time and make the record perfect. But this other rock project is gonna be a lot of fun – we’re gonna play clubs for two weeks, it’s gonna be great.”
Darius Rucker’s New Album
Rucker is proudly one-third of Howl Owl Howl, but he’s still working on his own solo projects as well. The Grand Ole Opry member’s last project, Carolyn’s Boy, was released in 2023. Part of the reason Rucker relocated to England is to make the record he has always wanted to make.
“When the idea to move to London happened, all the stress left,” Rucker reveals. “I think if I was over in the US still writing with my buddies in Nashville, I would be more stressed…But when I came here, it was just a case of, ‘All right, let’s write some songs.’ And we started writing songs that felt like nothing I’d written before. We have this great duet with my daughter singing on it. It’s just awesome. I mean, it’s really awesome. And I don’t know if I would have done that in Nashville.”
Hootie & the Blowfish currently have a Top 5 single at country radio with “Bottle Rockets,” their collaboration with Scotty McCreery.
See a list of Howl Owl Howl tour dates below. Find more information at HowlOwlHowl.com.
Howl Owl Howl Tour Dates:
November 3 || Indianapolis, IN || The Vogue
November 4 || Chicago, IL || Metro Chicago
November 6 || Washington, D.C. || 9:30 Club
November 7 || Asbury Park, NJ || Stone Pony
November 8 || Boston, MA || Paradise Rock Club – Music Hall
November 11 || New York, NY || Webster Hall
November 12 || Philadelphia, PA || Union Transfer
November 14 || Athens, GA || Georgia Theatre
November 15 || Atlanta, GA || Variety Playhouse
Photo Credit: Steven Cohen