It’s a new chapter for Shenandoah, and an exciting one at that. The iconic country music group has been making music for more than 35 years, ever since their eponymous debut album came out in 1987. But now the group is ready for more — much more — kicking off the new season with their hit single, “Revival,” out now.
“I don’t know exactly when the album’s coming out,” lead singer Marty Raybon tells Everything Nash. “We’re working on some more tunes. We have some guests that are gonna come by, and a lot of times when you do stuff like that, it depends on what their schedule will allow. We’ve got about two or three things now that we want to single … We feel like we have the stuff that we could put out so that folks can hear some of the new stuff.”
In a genre known for heartbreak and sad songs, Raybon makes it clear that the mission of Shenandoah remains the same: to give people positive, uplifting songs that makes them feel good, at least for the duration of the song.
“We’ve always tried to relate to the things that have been positive,” Raybon explains. “We can sing all the negative, but we just choose not to do that. We don’t want to sing about drinking and cheating and running around and all that other kind of stuff. I’m not any better than anybody else, but as my daddy said, ‘Son, keep your nose clean.’ So that’s where we’re at with it. We just think there’s a lot of good and positive things that can be sung about like ‘Somewhere In the Vicinity of the Heart,’ ‘Moon Over Georgia,’ stuff like that. That’s where we are.”.
Shenandoah has a busy year of touring planned, in support of their new music. The group will also kick off 2024 on the Country Music Cruise, where they will be joined by Tracy Lawrence, Shenandoah, Billy Dean, Darryl Worley, Neal McCoy, Joe Nichols , Clint Black, Wade Hayes, Linda Davis, Jimmy Fortune, Moe Bandy and more. Whether Raybon is on a tour bus or a boat, his biggest goal is to get closer to his fans.
“That’s the reason why we like doing cruises,” Raybon says. “When when you walk outside your cabin door, anybody you run into, you know why they’re there, and they know why you’re there … I guess that’s the formalities, to see if we can strike a friendship. And before it’s all over, nine times out of ten, that’s what happens. It’s the same way it is when you go to a show, and you meet people afterward. And sometimes people don’t want anything in the world from you. They just wanna be able to tell you, ‘Hey, I just wanna let you know what your music meant to me.'”
The Country Music Cruise sets sail on January 20 from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It will travel to Grand Turk, Key West and Half Moon Cay, before returning on January 27. Cabins are on sale now. Use the code EverythingNash for an exclusive low rate. More information can be found at CountryMusicCruise.com.
Find all of Shenandoah’s music, as well as a list of their upcoming shows at ShenandoahBand.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of 8 Track Entertainment / Michael Gomez
