Shenandoah Brings 30th Anniversary Tour to Vilar Performing Arts Center

Shenandoah has often been considered one of the best bands in country, garnering a slew of No. 1 hits and a large fanbase. Now embarking on a 30th anniversary tour, Shenandoah is poised to cement its legacy as a group that exemplifies what it means to play quality country music.

Shenandoah: 30th Anniversary Tour will come to the Vilar Performing Arts Center (VPAC) on Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $45 and are available now at the VPAC box office (970-845-8497; www.vilarpac.org). The VPAC is located under the ice rink in Beaver Creek Village (68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek, Colorado).

Formed in the mid-1980s, Shenandoah went on to release nine studio albums and have more than 25 songs reach the Billboard Hot Country charts. In 1989, the group had three No. 1 hits, "The Church on Cumberland Road," "Sunday in the South" and "Two Dozen Roses," followed by another No. 1 with "Next to You, Next to Me" the very next year. In 1995, Shenandoah won a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart," which featured Alison Krauss.

Led by vocalist Marty Raybon, Shenandoah has made their mark on country music by delivering great songs one can't help but tap their cowboy boot to.

"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."

After disbanding at certain points in their history, Shenandoah is now committed to playing together and releasing new music, while also celebrating what made the group so great in the first place.

"We are really proud of the quality of the material that we have in our catalog and how it's touched so many people's lives," says founding member and drummer Mike McGuire. "We're still the same guys. Marty still has the same voice he had back in the day ... I expect the records we cut in the future are still going to sound like Shenandoah and the songs are going to be just as good, if not better."

For country fans, seeing Shenandoah play all their favorite songs is a chance to relive the music and the memories. Shenandoah: 30th Anniversary Tour comes to VPAC on Thursday, July 1

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