The New York Times reports that legendary rocker Tom Petty has reunited his old band Mudcrutch after a 30-odd year hiatus.

According to the Times, Petty formed the band, initially called The Epics, in the late ’60s with neighborhood friend Tom Leadon, who he used to sing with at the local park when the two were still in their early teenage years. The band formed in Gainesville, FL, and then moved to Los Angeles in search of its big break. That break never came. Not for Mudcrutch anyway. The band dissolved, but Petty (who played bass in Mudcrutch), keyboardist Benmont Tench, and guitarist Mike Campbell went on to form Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, one of the most popular bands of the past three decades.

The Times goes on to say that Leadon and drummer Randall Marsh pursued other interests while they watched their former band mates reap the success of their dreams. When Petty called them to reform Mudcrutch, Leadon was working as a teacher and Marsh was giving private drum lessons.  

The familiarity and chemistry spawned a flood of creativity—the band’s debut album, which will be released April 29, was recorded in less than two weeks and features brand new material as well as some original takes on classics such as the bluegrass standard, Shady Grove.

“This is something I didn’t expect to happen in my life,” Mr. Leadon says in the Times report. “I get to see what might have happened if I’d stayed in the band. But maybe if I had, the Heartbreakers never would have gotten famous, so I don’t have any bitterness or regrets. This is an unbelievable dream that I’m living. But then when we start playing, it just feels like I’m home again.”