MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Darius Rucker sang a mixture of new songs and old favorites Wednesday night in Burruss Auditorium at Virginia Tech.

Here's the thing about Darius Rucker -- the man could sing the federal tax code, a cappella, and hold an audience.

So it's not a surprise that Rucker, who led Hootie and the Blowfish to pop music superstardom in the mid-1990s, is able to cast his clear, strong baritone into the country music world. The surprise is how authentic he sounds doing it.

The evidence was on display Wednesday night at Virginia Tech's 2,800-capacity Burruss Auditorium. Rucker performed songs from his hit country CD, "Learn To Live," sprinkled in the biggest Hootie hits and kept a crowd of about 2,000 -- including Hokie football coach Frank Beamer and his wife -- on its feet from opening note to encore.

Among the new songs was "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," his first No. 1 hit as both a solo artist and a country musician -- and the first No. 1 country song for a black man since 1983, when Charley Pride hit the top.

That tune will be like the biggest Hootie and the Blowfish songs, Rucker said.

"I think I'm probably going to be having to play this song for the rest of my life," he said, introducing it. "And I'm OK with that."

Funny, it was essentially a Hootie song, fitting tight with the hits "Let Her Cry," "Hold My Hand," "Time" and "Only Wanna Be With You" -- each of which he and his band performed to big applause. Audience members might have skewed college-age, but they knew their oldies.

And Rucker knows his country. This was clearly not a Jessica Simpson-style attempt at career-saving. With his songs "Alright," "It Won't Be Like This For Long," and especially "Drinkin' and Dialin,' " he showed that he is locked into the new country zeitgeist.

He also took the audience back, with covers of Hank Williams Jr.'s "Family Tradition" and the Steve Goodman and John Prine classic, "You Never Even Call Me By My Name."

Opening act King Billy was eerily reminiscent of a long-gone Franklin County group -- the Clark Family Experience. Half of that band of siblings is now the Clark Brothers, winners on last year's "Next Great American Band."

Like the Clarks, King Billy is telegenic, and also like the Clarks, the members of King Billy are monster musicians.