Sitting in his living room, surrounded by an eclectic mix of taxidermy and classic country records, Roberto Escamilla pulls out his first electric guitar. It’s an inexpensive Karera guitar signed by the original members of Black Sabbath gifted to him by a family friend who saw Escamilla’s potential as a musician when he first expressed interest in the art at the age of 12. Now, 30, he is tearing up the stage with a full band, bringing his own brand of classic country music to the people of Ohio and beyond.

Escamilla’s family moved to the United States from El Salvador when he was 8 years old, but his introduction to country music came a few years later. In High School, Escamilla recalls hearing the NPR radio program, Bluegrass Ramble, while riding in a car to his mother’s house. “It kind of stopped me dead in my tracks,” he explains. The song was a tune by James King called Bed by the Window.

He remembers telling his friend about the impact of the song, “I just heard the most insanely beautiful song I’ve ever heard in my life. And from then on, it kind of just sparked an interest and a curiosity.” His journey exploring Bluegrass music led to the discovery of other genres like old-time music, Escamilla’s inspiration for first picking up the banjo. But it was classic country music that won his heart.

“Some of my biggest influences for sure are Jimmie Rodgers, Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, and Waylon Jennings.” Discussing his influences, Escamilla speaks reverently about the straightforward nature of the genre.

“If you speak the truth and stay within that real country sound, it doesn’t matter if it came in the sixties, seventies, eighties or nineties.”

In his own writing, Escamilla touches on traditional country themes such as heartache, but often includes his unique perspective as an immigrant in the United States. “I also gravitate towards that kind of stuff. The aspect of, being an immigrant here in this country and what it’s like, especially around the era of like the 2016 elections and border security and all that stuff.”

He continues, “I feel like some people are like, ‘You may be an immigrant, but you’re not like that.’ But I am. I am an immigrant. I had to learn how to speak English. I came to this country for a better life. I am just like the 30 something guy that’s swimming across the Rio Grande trying to provide a better life for his family. I’m the exact same person.”

While Country music is sometimes seen as a genre lacking diversity or inclusion, Escamilla hasn’t found himself to be an outsider in the culture. “No one’s ever gone out of their way to make to make it known that I shouldn’t be there,” he says, “It’s people coming up to me and asking me like, ‘Hey, where are you from?’ And it sparks a conversation. I get to meet a lot of people that way. So I’ve never thought of [being Latino] as a disadvantage, more as an advantage that I can use.”

The genre of country music is constantly evolving, but Escamilla holds firm that Classic Country is here to stay. “For those people that say that classic country music is dead, it’s not. You just gotta know where to find it.” He says, “We’re all still carrying that same flame that was lit in the Bristol when the Carter family and Jimmy Rogers first started out. That spark is still there. It’s just a matter of finding it.”

Roberto Escamilla’s first single, ‘When I Die’, is out on Spotify and other streaming platforms and he’s hitting the studio soon to record more tunes. In the meantime, he’s performing with his band, playing dives and honky-tonks, carrying on the tradition of classic country music for a new generation of listeners.