By John Ostapowicz / The Jambar
Almost 10 years ago, the Americana and roots country band The Shootouts hit the stage for the first time. The trio of lead vocalist Ryan Humbert, lead guitarist Brian Poston and backing vocalist Emily Bates will celebrate the group’s anniversary Oct. 10 with a series of shows.
Formed in Akron by Humbert and Poston, the band made its live debut Oct. 10, 2015, at Happy Dog in Cleveland.
With almost a decade of playing, the band has accomplished several feats, including a performance at the Grand Ole Opry, an album that stayed on the Americana Music Association charts for 10-consecutive weeks and memorabilia displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
To kick off the celebration, the band will play and reveal its new memorabilia exhibit Oct. 3 at the Akron History Center. The showcase includes items such as Poston’s boots from his debut Grand Ole Opry performance, a shirt worn by Humbert to the band’s first show, posters and other significant artifacts.
The Shootouts’s limited VIP show involves a short acoustic set and silent auction with proceeds benefitting the history center. Humbert said with the local show, it’s a great time to mingle and thank those who have helped the band over 10 years.
“Just a really cool little evening to mingle with the VIPs — a lot of folks that have been with us on this journey for 10 years now will be there that night — and we’re really excited about it,” Humbert said.
After a stop in the band’s hometown, Humbert said The Shootouts will perform their 10th show Oct. 10 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville — on the day of the group’s anniversary.
“What better way to celebrate our 10th anniversary [Oct. 10] than to do our 10th Grand Ole Opry as well. We’ve been very fortunate to have been on that stage 10 times since February of 2023,” Humbert said.
With the conclusion of the Opry show, The Shootouts will return to the band’s first venue at the Happy Dog on Oct. 17.
The group will play as a full band, with the addition of bassist Erin Vaughn and drummer Mark Butto, and is the only show that features the additional members of The Shootouts.
“We’re doing it as a special — $10 tickets to celebrate the 10th anniversary,” Humbert said. “We’re going to even dive back into some of the songs that we played ten years ago.”
The Shootouts’ senior album “Switchback” was released May 30 on Transoceanic Records. Seven songs off the album have 10,000 or more streams on Spotify, with the single “Trampoline” garnering over 93,000 streams.
Continuing the band’s commercial success, the fourth studio album reached the No. 4 spot on the Americana Music Association charts.
“With this new record, it’s probably the most accessible album we’ve made as well,” Humbert said. “Maybe somebody that thought we were too country before, or too this or too that, we’re still the same band and we’re still a country band, but we’ve colored around the edges a little differently with this record.”