Grammy award-winning band Hootie and the Blowfish will play PNC Arena in February, concert promoter Live Nation announced Monday.
The show, which will also include indie rock band SUSTO, will be on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. The concert is being billed as a pre-party for fans ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes outdoor game at neighboring Carter-Finley Stadium on Feb. 18.
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Tickets for the PNC Arena concert go on sale to the general public on Friday, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. Pre-sales begin on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Hootie and the Blowfish last played Raleigh in May 2019 when they headlined a show with Barenaked Ladies at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek.
In the band has roots in the Carolinas. The band formed in late 1980s at the University of South Carolina.
Gus Gusler, the owner of the popular Raleigh restaurant and bar Players Retreat, served as the band's lawyer at the height of their fame in the 1990s. Although he still is their lawyer, Gusler told WRAL in 2020 that he almost never represented the band at all.
After working with bands in the past, Gusler said he had stopped representing musicians as most weren't interested in the business side of the industry.
An old friend was managing Hootie and the Blowfish at the time and had called Gusler three times in an effort to get him to represent the band. Each time, Gusler said no. The fourth call was from a payphone downstairs from Gusler's office.
"They cared about the business and they understood there was a business side, I've been with them ever since," Gusler said. "They are still four of my best friends in the world."
Hootie and the Blowfish has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.