CMT Blog: Archive

Maybe he put a little extra thought into it because it was a good cause. Or maybe Darius Rucker's shows are just always this good. But between the classic country covers, his old songs from his Hootie & the Blowfish days, his new country songs, an even newer not-released-yet song ("In a Big Way"), and the cover songs he did that I've never heard anyone do so far (Jamey Johnson's "In Color" and Toby Keith's "God Love Her"), I felt like by the end of his set, Rucker had done every kind of country there was at the Shake the Lake Music Festival on Thursday (May 27) in Chicago.

A crowd of about 700 fans, local celebrities and athletes were there doing their part to raise money for breast cancer research. Rucker told me before the show that he likes to help out where he can, especially for this event because it's a cause that's close to host Chicago Bear Greg Olsen's heart. And Rucker said, "I always say there are two seasons: football season and waiting for football season."

Olsen, a tight end for the Bears, is moved to use his celebrity to do good because his mom is a nine-year breast cancer survivor. He admitted that he could probably raise more money doing other fundraisers, but live music in a small bar is a lot more fun. "You'd be hard pressed to find a better night than this," he told me. And Olsen really, really loves country music. Not just the stuff on the radio right now, but older tunes, too. He rattled off a bunch of songs he's into right now and said he loves Rucker's whole album, but especially "History in the Making" and "I Hope They Get to Me in Time." But Olsen's real talent off the football field is karaoke. And his favorite song to do? John Michael Montgomery's "Sold (The Grundy Country Auction Incident)." "It's so impressive because it's such a fast-talking song, and I know all the words."