Darius Rucker's acceptance by the country music fraternity is complete! The former rocker has been invited to join the Grand Ole Opry, which in country terms is a pretty big deal. The Huffington Post reports that Rucker performed at the legendary venue in Nasville on Tuesday (October 2nd) and then received a surprise visitor in the form of Brad Paisley, who invited him to join. Only the best and most authentic country performers are invited to join the Opry, so this is important stuff for the 46 year-old.

"I'm still surprised," Rucker said afterward. "They shocked me. Everybody, my wife and I'm just finding out even my kids knew. I wasn't expecting anything today. I didn't think tonight is the night I'd be asked to be a member of the Opry. That's unbelievable." Rucker first came to attention in music as front man for the rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, meaning that the transformation has been far from easy, and acceptance potentially could've been slow. However, Rucker insisted that he felt he was fully country now. "I felt like I was in," he said. "I felt like I was accepted and I was part of the family. This is the completion of the conversion from Hootie into Darius the country singer. With the induction into the Opry, it's definitely complete now."