The Shootouts - Switchback (2025)

"On the heels of their 8th Opry performance and their Ryman Auditorium debut earlier this year, Akron, Ohio's "rustbelt Americana" torchbearers, The Shootouts, release their new album Switchback, on Transoceanic Records. Switchback is The Shootouts' fourth album and the follow up to their acclaimed 2023 release Stampede, a #1 at Alt-Country and # 4 on the Americana radio charts. Recorded in Nashville, TN, The Shootouts brought in Grammy-winner Dan Knobler, following his production of Allison Russell's AMA Album of the Year, Outside Child, to produce, mix and co-engineer Switchback. Already garnering 5-star reviews, Country Music People magazine called Knobler's craft on Switchback, "astonishingly good production" on a "spectacular album." Ryan Humbert, whose distinctive lead vocals continue to draw comparisons to Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies, along with bandmates Emily Bates, and Brian Poston are joined on the tracks by some of Americana and country music's most noteworthy players. Switchback opens with the lush fan-favorite "Trampoline," followed by the high-energy rocker "The Other Side of My Life." Lindsay Lou, Sam Bush, and Mickey Raphael lend their talents to a rootsy take on the '80's post-punk classic "Only You," originally by Yaz, the iconic UK duo of Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke. Two country legends accompany Humbert on vocals, starting with Rodney Crowell on the country folk infused "Half A World Away"; and Vince Gill picking up the pace on an electrifying rendition of "I'll Be Damned," a song he penned and recorded in 1980. "Only Good at Goodbye" features a guest vocal by singer/songwriter Logan Ledger, with the renowned Russ Pahl on pedal steel. Switchback finds The Shootouts elevating their palette of traditional country, contemporary twang, rockabilly, and Western swing roots, while maintaining their blue-collar, hard-working ethic. "