Yahoo News Darius Rucker ‘Gets to See the World’ as He Embarks on His 'Starting Fires' Tour (Exclusive)
The country singer-songwriter tells PEOPLE about making the most of life on the road and the importance of giving back
Darius Rucker is spending his summer on the road.
The 57-year-old country singer has just embarked on his Starting Fires Tour, and while he is looking forward to all of the shows he's got planned in the next four months, Rucker is especially excited about his return to Chicago next month.
“Windy City Smokeout is just a flat-out party,” Rucker tells PEOPLE about the Chicago-based music festival. “I like to go around there and eat barbecue and then hang out with people during the day before my show just because it's such a fun festival. And Chicago is such a great city, and the festival is a blast.”
A self-proclaimed “barbecue guy,” Rucker looks forward to the food the Windy City Smokeout offers. “For me, it's coming down and getting some pulled brisket and applying the different sauces. I'm a sauce guy, so the mustard base, tomato base, and the vinegar base, all that stuff, I love to try all of it,” the “Wagon Wheel” singer says.
Before starting his tour, Rucker put on his 14th annual Darius & Friends concert, which raised more than $500,000 dollars for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
“I'll tell you, it was a blast,” the country singer says. “We had Jelly Roll and HARDY and Megan Moroney and Vince Gill and Jake Owen. It was just a bunch of really great artists that came out and we raised a lot of money. And anytime you can raise money for a good cause like St. Jude's it's a positive.”
When asked why raising money for St. Jude is so important to him, Rucker told PEOPLE, “Knowing that they do all this work and nobody ever gets a bill, they put people up and feed the families and that's expensive. And when I went and visited there, I just wanted to do something to help them a little bit, and so I started Darius & Friends.”
Whether it be Windy City Smokeout, Darius & Friends or the Starting Fires Tour, Rucker is a well-versed performer. Beyond all of the time he has spent on stage, Rucker has also attended many other artists' performances, with one being his clear favorite.
“The best show I ever saw was the Ramones at The Bayou in Washington D.C.,” the dad of three (including two recent graduates!) tells PEOPLE. “It was perfect. It was two-and-a-half minute rock songs playback, it was just the best show I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of people. I've never been more entertained than that.”
While Rucker will be busy on the road for the next few months, he will be making the most of it, and trying something new in each city he visits: “The best part of doing our job is that you get to see the world, and I always say go see something. Be a tourist. Look around."
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