The Shootouts will be featured guests performing their 2025 album “Switchback” at Ann Arbor’s The Ark on August 20 with Asleep at the Wheel.
The new Americana album dropped five months before The Shootout’s 10th anniversary, marking a special time in the band’s sound. Marking nine years of writing and performing original music steeped bluegrass, roots rock and classic country inspirations together, creating an entirely new timbre.
Lead singer Ryan Humbert describes this album as representative of who The Shootouts are, instead of the music they take inspiration from.
“Somebody asked me ‘Who do you think this record sounds like’ and I couldn’t give them a good answer. It ended up striking me that that is the best answer, right? If I can’t put a finger on who we sound like, that means we sound like the Shootouts.”
Rolling Stone recently posted a feature of the band titled ‘The Shootout’s Perfect Rust Belt Country’. Speaking on that review, Humbert said, “We are happy to hold up that mantle. What is rust belt country? It’s country music that is filtered through the lens of the hardworking people here in the Rust Belt who have a work ethic, grit and a little bit of edge.”
This album features special guests like Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill, Bluegrass Music Hall of Famer Sam Bush and Americana legend Rodney Crowell.
“Rodney Crowell is a voice and a name I grew up with, so to have him join us on the record, that’s very special,” Humbert said, “[He] happens to be our producer’s father-in-law. I don’t even know if we would have met Dan Knobler if it wasn’t for Rodney saying, ‘You know, I think you should call my son-in-law, he might be a good fit for you. He’s a producer.”
Hailing from Ohio, The Shootouts began as a cover band between Humbert and guitarist Brian Poston to pay tribute to the real, traditional country music they loved and bonded over. After about a year, they moved into performing original songs.
“We started as a live band. We had no intentions of making records. Until, at our very first show, it was like I was hit with a bolt of lightning and I thought ‘Man, this is really what I should have been doing all along.’ Everything made sense,” Humbert said.
The band creates as a collective. Trusted cowriters are brought in, collaborations decide covers to make a mark on, and lyrics are tweaked with checks and balances. For example, “I’ll be Damned” featuring Vince Gill, was written by Gill in the 80’s. The band approached Vince to join them on the song, and he agreed enthusiastically.
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“We have a mission statement: at the heart of what we do, no matter what, even if we tweak our sound with every record, we still want to be overall embodying everything that we believe makes country music great,” Humbert explained.
The August 20 concert with Asleep at the Wheel will be the band’s 5th show together in August. Their lead singer, Ray Benson, produced The Shootouts 2023 album, “Stampede”. Benson is also featured on a song on that album titled “One Step Forward”. The bands have at least a dozen performances together under their belts, accumulated over the years.
“It’s going to be fun to see The Wheel up on that stage, you know they got a 7-piece band. It’ll be fun to see them all crammed up there,” Humbert said about the intimate setting of The Ark.
Humbert shouted out the album’s executive producers Sue DiMassa and Joe Kirgesne for making the album a reality and producer Dan Knobler for shaping the sound of the album. “Switchback” is the band’s first album with Transoceanic Records and Humbert showed appreciation to the label for their encouragement, support and friendship.
“[Transoceanic Records] really truly believe in what we’re doing and what we bring to the table. They’ve been incredibly supportive of that and I don’t think this record would be exactly where it is today without their love, support and attention to detail.”
The concert at The Ark will begin at 8pm and tickets are on sale now. Humbert said the shows are upbeat and lively to offset life’s chaos waiting outside the venue doors.
“If someone can come into our show and step outside of the craziness of their real life, even just for an hour or two, and we can put a smile on their face while they are there, I feel we’ve done our job,” Humbert said.
