Darius Rucker performed to a packed house at CCU Saturday night, the biggest night yet for the HTC Center. A crowd of 3,300 students and community members turned out to see the former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman from Charleston who has reinvented himself as a country star. The concert will benefit CCU student scholarships.

Rising country artist Ricky Young, also a South Carolina native, opened the show. Rucker took the stage at 8:15 p.m., opening with his hit "Radio" from his 2013 CD "True Believers." He performed a mix of new songs, Hootie favorites and covered several classic pop-rock songs such as "Little Pink Houses" and "Purple Rain." One of the biggest moments of the evening was the encore "Wagon Wheel," his most successful song ever as a solo artist. His version of the Bob Dylan song spent two weeks at No. 1 on the country charts and has sold some 4 million copies.

Footage from the concert and scenes of Rucker shot on the CCU campus during the day on Saturday will be used in the video for his upcoming single, "Homegrown Honey."

Rucker first attained multiplatinum status as Hootie's lead singer and rhythm guitarist. The band, formed in 1986 at the University of South Carolina, released five studio albums and charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, with Rucker co-writing the majority of the songs with the other three members.

Rucker wrote 10 of the 12 songs on "True Believers." His previous two albums, "Learn To Live" and "Charleston, SC 1966," both topped the Billboard Country Album chart and produced five number one singles.

Last year he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.