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Shenandoah coming  to Kuss Auditorium

The country band Shenandoah, playing Kuss Auditorium on March 6, is now fronted by singer Jimmy Yeary (center).

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By Andrew McGinn, Staff Writer Updated 9:09 AM Friday, February 26, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — Shenandoah’s last big hit was in 1995.

Fifteen years ago.

Or to put it another way, last century.

So when the phone rings and you know it’s drummer Mike McGuire on the other side, you steel yourself — you’ve been down this road before.

He’s either going to:

A. Try to talk seriously about how Shenandoah is about to embark on a comeback with some of the best music they’ve ever recorded; or

B. Badmouth country radio.

And?

It was, refreshingly, neither.

When Shenandoah comes calling to Kuss Auditorium on March 6, get set to see a group of guys who just want to play to play.

Come out, relive all the old hits, go home satisfied.

Simple as that.

“I don’t really have a desire to do what we did,” McGuire confessed. “That would mean we had to work 365 days a year. Right now, it’s fun. We had our hits.”

Wait.

Is somebody famous actually speaking from the heart here?

Hey, when you’re from Alabama, you don’t know any other way.

“It’s a young man’s business,” McGuire said. “It’s enjoyable for me to see these young kids come up.”

The influential country band — whose No. 1 hits in the late ’80s and early ’90s included “The Church on Cumberland Road,” “Sunday in the South” and “Next to You, Next to Me” — isn’t the same band, to be sure.

Right now, Shenandoah counts only McGuire and lead guitarist Jim Seales as its remaining original members.

Original lead singer Marty Raybon left in 1997, leaving the band unsure of its fate.

Luckily, as McGuire explained, Shenandoah was always sold as a band, not a collection of individuals.

“In the 13 years,” McGuire said, “I bet we haven’t had 20 people even mention or ask where Marty’s at.”

For Shenandoah, fronted for the past three years by Jimmy Yeary — a writer who’s penned songs for Rascal Flatts and Montgomery Gentry — the songs are what still drive people to the shows.

“It’s not really about the guys,” McGuire said. “We kick off ‘Two Dozen Roses’ and you see the smiles on people’s faces.”

Simple as that.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0352 or amcginn@coxohio.com.

How to go

Who: Shenandoah with opener Keni Thomas, an Army Ranger-turned-country singer who participated in the infamous “Blackhawk Down” mission of 1993.
When: 8 p.m. March 6
Where: Kuss Auditorium
Tickets: $15 to $40; visit pac.clarkstate.edu or call (937) 328-3874.

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