Iconic '90s Country Hitmakers Shenandoah Delight a Packed House of Fans in Music Video for 'Revival'

"There was already so much energy in the room, even before we did it," Marty Raybon says of the video filmed at The Mulehouse in Columbia, Tennessee

It was just last year that Shenandoah's frontman Marty Raybon, drummer Mike McGuire and country music hitmaker Tyler Hubbard walked into Marathon Music Works in Nashville for an industry event — and walked out with the possibility of collaborating on a song together.

"Mike was the one who asked Tyler for some songs," remembers Raybon, 63, in a recent interview with PEOPLE. "After talking with the publishing companies, we were sent several songs but when we heard 'Revival," we were hooked."

And today, that chance meeting has resulted in the iconic '90s band releasing their first new music in two years in the form of the inspiring song "Revival," written by Hubbard and fellow songwriting powerhouses Corey Crowder, Brian Kelley and Josh Miller.

"We have never cut the tempo they call a four on the floor, but this one has exactly that," Raybon explains. "It's not just got a good tempo though — it's a good story song. It's about coming out of the year of covid. It's time for all of us to get back together again."

It is together alongside Raybon's bandmates McGuire, Nick Hines, Andrew Ishee, Paul Sanders and Donnie Allen that Shenandoah is not only fixing to be back on the country music charts with "Revival," but are also planning to release an upcoming album later this year as part of their new partnership with 8 Track Entertainment/Fame Records.

"We're going back in February, and we are going to cut the rest of [the new record]," says Raybon. "We've got a couple of artists that we are going to be collaborating with. It's going to be really good."

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Shenandoah. Michael Gomez

In the past, Shenandoah has collaborated with the likes of artists such as Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Lady A. And while Raybon says he doesn't consider "Revival" a gospel song per se, he does confirm that it is a song that has the band's live audiences feeling the spirit.

"When we get down into the middle of the song, everybody's raising their hands," says Raybon, who with his Shenandoah bandmates has made a 35-year career out of No. 1 hits such as "The Church on Cumberland Road," "Sunday in the South" and "Two Dozen Roses." "It's the coolest thing in the world."

Luckily, that infectious spirit is now forever captured in the music video for "Revival," premiering exclusively on PEOPLE.

"There was already so much energy in the room, even before we did it," Raybon says of the video filmed at The Mulehouse in Columbia, Tennessee, and directed by Ryan Nolan Photography & Designs. "We did the video during a show where we already had a packed house. And even when we got to the end of [the song], people were asking us to play it again!" He laughs, adding, "There is nothing like that high that you get on when you're performing."

It's that high that Raybon says keeps the GRAMMY, CMA and ACM-winning hitmakers coming back for more.

"I got back with the group in 2014," Raybon says quietly. "I remember telling Mike that I didn't believe we had said everything we needed to say yet. I didn't think we had cut everything we need to cut. And I still don't think we're finished. I want us to see this thing through, but we got to keep our foot on the gas."

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