The adage that successful marriage creates a team could never be more true for for one local music couple. Dan and Amanda Devault from Mansfield are a married couple who became a country music duo three years ago are seeing success in the form of big shows this summer.
It all started one day when Dan DeVault decided to record himself covering Tim McGraw’s “It’s Your Love” to post on YouTube. He asked his wife to help sing the woman’s part. After reading positive responses and seeing their video’s views climb, they decided to be a musical team.
Shortly after their decision to make a band, they posted an ad on Craigslist, searching for musicians. They found four local musicians to play with them: Steve Faulkner from Mansfield, bassist; Jim Smith, drummer; Dennis Eggerton from Fredericktown, guitarist; and Johnny Howard from Ontario, guitarist. Together, the group formed The DeVault Ridge Band.
According to Dan DeVault, the DeVault Ridge Band’s sound is a mixture of old school, modern and edgy country music. “Our sound comes from the talent of the guys we got. We were blessed with some great musicians who’ve played with some very big musicians over the years,” he said.
As of now, the majority of their songs are covers, but they are working toward writing and recording original songs. Once a week the band meets together to play through the setlist they will likely play at shows this summer. The couple is excited for what’s to come because they have a busy schedule that kicks off on May 17 when the band plays at The Thirsty Cowboy in Medina. One week later, they will be opening for David Alan Coe in Bucyrus.
The band will confirmed this week that they will cap off the summer as the opening act for Aaron Tippin at the Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival on August 15.
“It really is exciting,” Amanda DeVault said of the opportunity.
Aside from the busy summer schedule, the couple work full-time jobs in Ontario. However, they both love playing music and are excited for the shows because they would really like to build a fan base that genuinely loves listening to music.
“You know you’re doing something right when people are out there dancing and the place is packed. Country is making a comeback. It’s exciting, there’s nothing better then people singing along to your music. It drives you to take it to that next level, which is what we’re trying to do,” said Dan DeVault.
The DeVault Ridge Band will perform next in Shelby at Legends on April 19 at 8:30 p.m. They also have a website and Facebook page with touring information and general band information with samples of their music.
