MSM 90s Country: Shenandoah

8/15/26

By Monica Collier

I'm realizing right about now that in addition to "love" being an underlying theme of the Muscle Shoals Meets the 90s Country concert, "coming home" was also very much a theme Thursday night, too.

Hmm. Think about it. Three founding members of one of country's most iconic bands found a way to come home just for us, friends. Well, for us and the kids, of course.

Marty Raybon, Mike McGuire, and Jim Seales stood before a hometown crowd Thursday night and gave us a mini Shenandoah reunion concert that, according to Muscle Shoals Meets organizer, Russell Mefford, "shouldn't have happened."

How fortunate are we as a community to have these very special guys -- literal country music legends -- who are willing to adjust their busy schedules in order to support MSM and help build special needs playgrounds? I love my hometown.

Personally speaking, just like most of y'all, Shenandoah is so very special to me. These guys are the OG Shoals success story of my lifetime. They're pillars of our community who made it big and continue to make us all proud. They're just the best guys ever, y'all. Point proven Thursday night.

As a journalist, spending an afternoon with Marty and Mike at Billy Lawson's Wishbone Studios about 15 years ago was an absolute highlight of my 20-year career. Then, fast forward another 10 years and there I was sitting next to my youngest son, Jared, in Sheffield's historic Ritz Theatre witnessing Marty and Mike reuniting with Jim for the MSM cause. It was very much a full circle moment. Mind blown, friends.

These three Shoals heroes being together on stage again felt like coming home. They gifted us a magical Shenandoah trifecta, too: "Two Dozen Roses," "I Wanna Be Loved Like That," and "Church on Cumberland Road."

Yes. Shenandoah is just part of our Shoals DNA, fam. It was a homecoming/family reunion for the ages all in the name of Muscle Shoals Meets. How about that?

And yes, it really happened.

Stay tuned. More to come.

Dig Worms.