Shootouts play at Stambaugh tonight

UPDATED 06/20/19 at 10:52 a.m.

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

dastolfo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

“I don’t like country music but I like what you guys are doing.”

That’s a line that Ryan Humbert has heard several times after shows by his band, the Shootouts.

It’s OK with Humbert.

What the Shootouts are doing is playing their own brand of old-school country music, with a dash of rockabilly and a little honky-tonk thrown in.

The result has been catching the ears of Northeast Ohioans.

The Akron-area band released its debut album, “Quick Draw,” in May, and has been hitting the road to promote it.

The Shootouts will become the first country band to play at the Bands at the Baugh outdoor concert series when they take the stage tonight. The 7 p.m. show was originally slated for the Stambaugh Auditorium gardens, but has been moved inside into the venue’s ballroom because of the likelihood of rain.

It’s a bit of an “everything old is new” scenario, but there is also a freshness to the Shootouts’ sound, especially when contrasted with the current country airwaves.

“The stuff on radio is more of a pop version of country, and that’s OK,” said Humbert. “I understand why people like it but there are alternatives. There are so many good artists out there, like Tyler Childers, Justin Townes Earle and Jim Lajuderdale, who are doing real country,” said Humbert.

The Shootouts, he said, start with the classic genre, and then filter it through their own musical taste and abilities. For a taste of the act’s range, check out the videos for the upbeat “Cleaning House” or the tender ballad “California to Ohio.”

Humbert co-wrote the latter song with Nashville singer-songwriter Kim Richey. It details a cross-country

trip his grandfather took while on leave from his Marine Corps base to see his girlfriend – who would become Humbert’s grandmother.

The Shootouts started on a lark as a side project between Humbert and Brian Poston, who was the guitarist in his other act, the Ryan Humbert Band.

“It started with my love of classic country,” said Humbert, who grew up in household where it was always on the radio. He and Poston often talked about how fun it would be to play vintage-style country music.

“We didn’t care if anybody would show up, but after our first show it clicked, it felt good,” said Humbert.

For the past couple of years, the Shootouts has been Humbert’s main focus; the Americana rock Ryan Humbert Band has been put on the backburner.

In addition to Humbert (lead vocals, acoustic guitar) and Poston (electric and acoustic guitar), the Shootouts consist of Ryan McDermott (bass), Dylan Gomez (drums, percussion) and Emily Bates (harmony vocals).

The band’s debut record, recorded in Brooklyn, NY, by veteran producers Luca Benedetti and Jim Campilongo. has garnered “phenomenal” reviews, said Humbert, as well as radio play across North American and abroad.

A series of videos the band made show off the fancy old-school country-western garb that has become another symbol of the Shootouts.

“We’re picking up steam now, having a lot of fun promoting the record,” said Humbert.