Biography

Since 2004, pop/rock singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert has been wowing audiences all over Northeastern Ohio. Playing over 600 shows, Humbert has opened for Train, Chrissie Hynde, Elvis Costello, Chris Isaak, Third Eye Blind, Matt Nathanson, Michelle Branch, Pete Yorn, The Gin Blossoms, Foreigner, Josh Ritter, Dave Mason, Allen Toussaint, Matraca Berg, Alana Davis, Raul Malo, The Zac Brown Band, Chuck Prophet, The Subdudes, Maia Sharp, Tim Easton, Glass Harp / Phil Keaggy, John Eddie and more.

Humbert has played such notable Ohio venues as Blossom Music Center, The House of Blues Cleveland, The Beachland Ballroom, The Akron Civic Theatre, The Canton Palace Theatre, The Kent Stage, Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre, The Tangier and many more. 

Ryan is currently in the middle of working on his new album “Sometimes The Game Plays You” due out in late 2011/early 2012. The record features musicians who have played with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Robert Plant, John Mellencamp, Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams as well as members of his own band. Always thinking outside the box, Ryan hosted a private fundraising concert for the album at the home of The Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde on as well as raised over $10,000 through fan support on the fundraising website Kickstarter.

In the Spring of 2008, Humbert went to Nashville, TN to record a pop/rock record with producer Lij (The Living Things, The Spinto Band, Jill Sobule). The resulting 14-song album,"Old Souls, New Shoes", features Humbert's bandmates Emily Bates and Ben Evans as well as former members of Third Eye Blind, The Jayhawks, The Counting Crows, The Black Crowes, and more.

Of the "Old Souls, New Shoes" CD, 91.3 The Summit WAPS-FM Music and Program Director Bill Gruber says: "(The song) Keeps Me Coming Back For More will make Rob Thomas jealous and may just be the best power-pop ballad I've heard from anybody all year."

Humbert is never one to shy away from showing his versatility as an artist and performer. In 2006 Ryan and his band had the honor of playing for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's American Music Masters Series in honor of Roy Orbison. They were the only band from N.E. Ohio asked to participate, performing a 12-song "Roy" set. 

More recently, Ryan was the featured artist at the ribbon cutting ceremony of VegiTerrenean, the Akron restaurant of Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde. In September of 2007, Ryan portrayed Hank Williams in a three-night run of the Canton Cabaret's “Hank Williams: The Concert That Never Was” performing 22 Hank Williams songs. Demand for the sold-out performances was overwhelming and two more encore performances were added. In 2009 Humbert started a series of shows titled "Strung Out" that features an acoustic version of his band plus a string section.

In 2005 The Canton Repository called Humbert's debut self-released record "Nothing to Lose" one of the Essential CDs of the year. Humbert has also been nominated for numerous awards, including The Cleveland Scene Music Awards, Cleveland Free Times Music Awards, and The Akron Area Arts Alliance Rising Star Award. The Cleveland Free Times claimed "Humbert is a dynamo...eager and rapid-fire...a catalyst for and enthusiastic supporter of the N.E. Ohio music scene."

Current band members include Erin Vaughn, Emily Bates, Ben Evans, Matt Middleton, Michael Houff & Jared Lees. Other musicians who join Ryan for some shows include Mary Kettering, Monica Gregory, Derek Snyder, Alexandra Vago & Steve Norgrove.