Whatever You Do, Don't Ask Country Duo Thompson Square Where They've Been: 'We Never Stopped'

Keifer and Shawna Thompson are on the lookout for dinosaur bones.

It's a search that the country music duo embarks on many a morning alongside their 6-year-old son Cooper through the woods that surround their new fixer-upper of a home, an animated search that usually takes place after the wedded pair have enjoyed their first cup of coffee on the porch.

"We get in the side by side and we go through all the paths in the woods," says Shawna Thompson in an interview with PEOPLE. "[Cooper] likes to refer to them as adventures."

Ford Fairchild Thompson Square

And it's this particular adventure that the Thompson family has enjoyed countless times over the past few years, as the rest of the world began to wonder what the heck the country duo was up to. Granted, Thompson Square's last charting album was 2013's Just Feels Good and up until a few months ago, they haven't had a single on the charts since 2019's "You Shoulda Been There."

"People think that if you don't have a single on the radio that you've either died or you're missing in the woods somewhere," says Keifer with a laugh. "We never have stopped."

And yes, he has a point.

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Known for chart-toppers such as "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" and "If I Didn't Have You," the Grammy Award-nominated duo have been keeping themselves quite busy as of late, both personally and professionally. From releasing their own children's book Time to Get Dressed in 2018 to Keifer making a go of it as a comedian, these two have most certainly kept themselves busy.

"We never stopped touring, never stopped writing, never stopped recording," says Keifer. "Just the radio element obviously wasn't there."

Ford Fairchild Thompson Square

Indeed, when the pair made the decision to pull out from under the grip of their previous record label, they went on to independently release their album Masterpiece in 2018.

"We funded that record and put it out because we wanted to do something without anyone's influence," says Keifer of the album he and Shawna co-produced alongside Nathan Chapman and Dann Huff. "It's our favorite record to date."

At the same time, Thompson Square was loving the chance to spend as much time with son Cooper as they could, eager to bask in the bliss that comes from seeing a baby grow up before one's very eyes.

"Those first three years of his life, we got to spend every moment with him," remembers Shawna.

But right before the pandemic hit, the pair began to beat around the idea of Shawna herself putting out a traditional country solo album. And as those conversations began, so did the conversation about releasing a Thompson Square single back to the radio.

Ford Fairchild Thompson Square

And then COVID-19 hit.

Nevertheless, when the duo was sent the feel-good song "Country in My Soul," they knew it might be time to partner with a new record label and get a new single back on the radio.

"The lyrics just hit me as soon as I heard it," Shawna says of the song written by James McNair, Daniel Ross, and fellow country star Lainey Wilson. "I'm from south Alabama and I grew up in the country and it just took me right back to my childhood listening to it."

It's this sweet childhood that Shawna and Keifer are now giving their son Cooper, who already seems to be following in his talented parents' footsteps.

"The music bug is definitely there," Keifer says of Cooper. "I mean, he is singing and humming all the time and he'll hop on a harmony by mistake occasionally." He laughs. "He's also taking piano lessons and creating beats on the iPad and he's even playing soccer."

And yes, Kiefer is his coach.

"I'm waiting to see if he's going to be as good as his old man," Kiefer laughs.

Ford Fairchild Thompson Square

"He's also a very tender kid," Shawna adds. "I think that comes from me."

Cooper also seems to love "Country in My Soul."

"We play all of our songs for him," remarks Keifer. "When a 6-year-old can tell if he likes it, that's probably a better indicator than any record label executive in town. It's interesting to play him songs and see what his feedback is. He's such a wonderful kid."

And at the end of the day, that's all Thompson Square wants. A wonderful life with a wonderful kid…and a song on the radio.

"I think we came out of the last few years as better people with a stronger marriage and definitely a stronger family unit," says Keifer. "We just have a lot more purpose."

"I think the main thing is we've just been able to live life," Shawna adds.