NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three-time GRAMMY Award-winning superstar Darius Rucker unveiled the official music video for his current single, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” with an exclusive CMT world premiere this morning across all platforms, including CMT, CMT Music, the CMT Equal Play channel on Pluto TV, CMT.com and Paramount billboards in Times Square. The cinematic video casts Rucker as a detective hot on the trail of a young couple whose passionate love is setting their town ablaze, both literally and figuratively. Watch HERE.
The song, praised by Billboard for Rucker’s “effective use of the impressive vocal control and power in his lower register,” is featured on his highly anticipated new album, Carolyn’s Boy, set for Oct. 6 release and named for his late mother as an “homage to the greatest woman I’ve ever known.” Preorder HERE.
“It’s been six years… We had so much to write about, so I took my time, got with some great guys, got some great songs and I’m really excited for people to hear it,” Rucker shared from the “TODAY” Citi Concert Series stage on Friday, Sept. 1 as he offered a preview of the project with rousing performances of “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” No. 1 hit “Beers And Sunshine” and recent release “Have A Good Time,” in addition to treating viewers to his Diamond-certified fan-favorite “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time.
From there, Rucker also made a stop in Charlotte over the weekend to cheer on his beloved USC Gamecocks as the guest picker on ESPN’s College GameDay, debuting his starring role on the show’s new theme song for the season, before performing the National Anthem and serving as an honorary captain for the USC vs. UNC coin toss. Fans across the country can celebrate the start of football season with year three of his Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics line, with an expansion to select NCAA teams for the first time, in addition to new NFL offerings and the debut of a full line of MLB apparel.
Next, Rucker returns to the road on his Starting Fires Tour ahead of the album’s release next month, which will also be celebrated during the second year of his personally curated Riverfront Revival Music Festival set for Oct. 7-8 in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. In addition to Rucker himself, fans will be treated to performances by Turnpike Troubadours, Lainey Wilson, Band of Horses and more. Limited tickets remain at RiverfrontRevival.com.
For more information on all things Darius Rucker, visit DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.
Carolyn’s Boy Track List:
Lyrics & label copy available HERE (songwriters in parentheses)
- Beers And Sunshine (Darius Rucker, JT Harding, Josh Osborne, Ross Copperman)
- In This Together (Darius Rucker, Derek George, Bobby Hamrick, Joy Williams)
- Never Been Over (Darius Rucker, Lee Thomas Miller, John Osborne)
- Fires Don’t Start Themselves (Ben Hayslip, Jacob Rice, Dan Isbell)
- Ol’ Church Hymn feat. Chapel Hart (Darius Rucker, Greylan James, Ben Hayslip, Josh Miller)
- 7 Days (Darius Rucker, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Charles Kelley)
- Same Beer Different Problem (Darius Rucker, Tofer Brown, Sarah Buxton, Brad Tursi)
- Sara (Darius Rucker, Joel Crouse, Kyle Rife, Ed Sheeran)
- Have A Good Time (Darius Rucker, Monty Criswell, Derek George, Bobby Hamrick)
- Sure Would Have Loved Her (Darius Rucker, Wyatt Durrette, Levi Lowrey)
- Southern Comfort (Chris LaCorte, Matt Rogers, Josh Osborne)
- 3am in Carolina (Darius Rucker, Ross Copperman, Michael Hardy)
- Lift Me Up (Temilade Openiyi, Robyn Fenty, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Goransson)
- Stargazing (Darius Rucker, Brinley Addington, Jess Cayne, Matt Morrisey)
About Darius Rucker
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (21x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers,plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. He co-hosted the 54th annual CMA Awards in 2020 and topped the charts at Country radio once again with “Beers And Sunshine” in 2021. Rucker’s new single, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves” is available everywhere now with his forthcoming album, Carolyn’s Boy, set for Oct. 6 release as he performs the new music for fans this summer on his Starting Fires Tour.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has raised over $3.6 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. In addition, Rucker has advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tenn. Rucker is also an avid sports fan, with his Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics apparel line available at Fanatics.com, and he is part of the Music City Baseball investment group working to bring an MLB team to Tennessee in addition to serving as a partner at the MGC Sports & Entertainment agency.