Shenendoah's 'Reloaded Tour' coming to Newton

NEWTON — The Newton Theatre welcomes country act Shenandoah during their ‘Reloaded’ tour on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, at 8 p.m.
When country music lovers talk about the greatest groups in the genre, Shenandoah is always at the forefront of any discussion. Fueled by Marty Raybon’s distinctive vocals and the band’s skilled musicianship, Shenandoah became well known for delivering such hits as Two Dozen Roses, Church on Cumberland Road and Next to You, Next to Me as well as such achingly beautiful classics as I Want to be Loved Like That and the Grammy winning Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart duet with Alison Krauss.
Today that legacy continues as original members Raybon and Mike McGuire reunite to launch a new chapter in Shenandoah’s storied career. It began when the guys got back together to perform a benefit concert for a friend battling cancer.
“We saw how folks reacted,” Raybon says of the response to their reunion. “And then Jerry Phillips, son of legendary Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, said ‘You guys need to make a run at this. People still love what you do. There’s a lot of excitement in the air.’”
“It’s kind of like riding a bicycle,” McGuire says of the band reigniting that chemistry on stage. “We had done so many shows over the years together, even though we spent 17 years apart, we got back up on the stage and it was like we never stopped. We knew those songs inside out. They were still dear to our hearts. It was great to get back up there and do them together again.”
Raybon and McGuire formed the band in 1984 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with bassist Ralph Ezell, keyboardist Stan Thorn and guitarist Jim Seales. Shenandoah inked a deal with the legendary Columbia Records and began establishing a national fan base with their self-titled debut in 1987. However, it was the band’s sophomore effort, The Road Not Taken, that spawned their first top 10 hits, She Doesn't Cry Anymore and Mama Knows, followed by three consecutive No. 1 hits—Church on Cumberland Road, Sunday in the South and Two Dozen Roses. It also helped propel sales of the album to more than half a million units thus giving Shenandoah their first gold album.
Great songs have provided the foundation for Shenandoah’s illustrious career.
“We knew a hit song when we heard one,” Raybon says. “We are songwriters and we wrote some of those hits, but we really prided ourselves on having an ear for songs. Mike, in particular, has always been a good song guy. When he played us a song he found, we knew it was going to be special.”
Shenandoah became known for delivering songs that celebrated the importance of faith and family while reveling in the joys of small town life. Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart, a beautiful duet with Alison Krauss, won a Country Music Association Award for Vocal Event of the year and a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Shenandoah also won the Academy of Country Music’s Vocal Group of the Year award in 1991.
McGuire credits Raybon’s vocals for providing Shenandoah with an identifiable sound. “When you hear Marty Raybon sing there’s nobody that sounds like him,” McGuire says. “There’s nobody that’s got the same chops that he’s got and he’s singing from his heart. That’s one of the reasons that everybody wants to hear him sing. Marty and me, we go way back. We’ve done a lot of things together and we love each other like brothers.”
Tickets for Shenandoah range from $44 to $59. Purchase tickets by visiting www.thenewtontheatre.com or contact the Box Office at 973-383-3700.