Darius Rucker gets his own street & day in North Charleston

With country music superstar Darius Rucker and his wife Beth looking on, City of North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey officially renamed a portion of Coliseum Drive to Darius Rucker Boulevard this morning at a ceremony at the North Charleston Coliseum. Rucker, a proud Lowcountry native and resident, has performed many concerts at the Coliseum as a solo artist and as the front man for Hootie & the Blowfish.

“It has been great to see Darius Rucker become a first class and world renowned musician, while always embracing the Lowcountry,” said Mayor Summey. “However, it gives me a larger sense of pride to see Darius come back to the Lowcountry, time and time again, and put forth a meaningful effort to make our community a better place. Over the years his goodwill has truly benefited a countless number of our residents, and for that we are ever thankful. It is a pleasure and honor to recognize Darius Rucker, someone who has never forgot the Lowcountry.”

“It’s crazy,” Rucker said. “You never do anything with the intention of getting something in return, so I never expect anything but when I heard they wanted to name a street after me, I have to admit I was flattered. I’m truly honored that they’re doing that. It’s massive…just incredible. I’m totally over the moon about the whole thing. It’s just amazing to be recognized like that.”

The renaming of the street was initiated by country music radio station WEZL 103.5 FM. Morning show co-hosts TJ Phillips and Ric Rush floated the idea on air of naming a street after Darius back in the spring. North Charleston Mayor Summey was listening. He loved the idea and called into the show to tell Rush and Phillips that he was going to work on the idea. On June 10, 2013 the North Charleston Planning Commission approved the name change of a Coliseum Drive to Darius Rucker Boulevard. 

“The WEZL Crew is humbled by the fact that we have incredible listeners which includes North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey,” Rush said. “He heard us talking about this idea on the air and teamed with WEZL to make the naming of Darius Rucker Boulevard a reality. We are proud that we had a small part in making this happen.”