NASHVILLE — Twenty-five years after “Cracked Rear View” launched their careers, Grammy-winning rockers Hootie & the Blowfish will release a new album and launch an official tour next year after a decade-long break.

The Southern pop-rockers, featuring lead singer Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Jim Sonefeld and Dean Felber, broke out with their major label debut in 1994, considered by the Recording Industry Association of America as one of the top-10 most popular albums of all time.

Rucker, now a major country star, said they’ve been a band for 30 years and still play together a few times a year but he’s looking forward to playing rock music and headlining New York’s Madison Square Garden again. The band will tour 44 cities starting May 30.

Kristin M. Hall, The Associated Press