Hootie and the Blowfish to Be Honored with a 20 Foot Monument

It's hard to believe that it has been almost 25 years since Hootie and The Blowfish rose up out of the dorms of USC to dominate the charts with their debut album 'Cracked Rear View". Their following releases, Fairweather Johnson and Musical Chairs also went multi-platinum, establishing Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld, Mark Bryan and Dean Felber as major players in American music.

Over the years, the guys have supported South Carolina in many ways including children's education, charity golf tournaments, and assisting other local talent like Edwin McCain and Cravin Melon's Doug Jones among others.

While Hootie can still be found performing together at shows such as The Homegrown Tour which benefits local schools, the guys are out and about doing their own thing as well. It's no secret that Darius Rucker regularly tops the country music charts since the release of his country solo debut 'Learn To Live'. While Rucker can be found touring with Brad Paisley on Paisley's H20 Tour, Darius is also set to release his sophomore country album 'Charleston, SC 1966'.

Jim 'Soni' Sonefeld released his solo debut 'Snowman Melting' in 2008. Mark Bryan recently formed Chucktown Music Group to release his own material as well as great music from other local musicians. He is also teaching at The College of Charleston.

Dean Felber has taken a slight detour from music and created The Perception Wine Company with several other friends. One of the amazing parts of being a member of a multi-platinum band is the ability to do the things in life you want to do, not just what you need to do.

Hootie and The Blowfish never forgot their South Carolina roots and now, Columbia is reminding the guys that we have never forgotten them either. On October 21, Hootie and the Blowfish will once again dominate the nightlife...and day life in Five Points. No they won't be playing any local venues, but never rule that out. They have a habit of showing up when they are least suspected.

This time they are being honored with a huge stainless steel and black granite statue in the shape and dimension of a hole on a putt-putt golf course, which is only fitting considering their huge tournament regularly staged after The Masters. The 20 feet long, 10 feet wide and 12 to 14 feet tall monument, will be erected at the corner of Santee Avenue and Harden Street. The stretch of road will also be honorarily renamed Hootie Boulevard.

All of the guys will be there for the unveiling and the party that will take place will be reminiscent of the huge music scene that Columbia is known for. Also appearing will be a slew of Carolina favorites including Cravin' Melon, The Blue Dogs, Patrick Davis, Tootie and The Jones, Treadmill Trackstar, The Soul Mites and Danielle Howle.

So keep your calendars open and get ready for a 90's style retro day. Hootie is back and it's fair to say with the size of this monument, that they will be bigger than ever.