Having experienced successful solo careers on the heels of each embarking on reality show journeys, artists Craig Wayne Boyd, Casey James and Adam Wakefield announced yesterday the formation of their new group, Texas Hill - marking the first time three individual artists, all from different reality shows (Wakefield and Boyd competed on separate seasons of NBC’s ‘The Voice,’ and James on ABC’s ‘American Idol’), have collaborated to form a trio. The news first broke yesterday (6/11) with Billboard, who also premiered the trio’s debut single “Darkest Sky” exclusively. Written by Ryan Beaver, Mike Walker, and James LeBlanc, “Darkest Sky” is the first of several releases from the new group - who already have several songs written, recorded, and ready to go.
Listen to “Darkest Sky” HERE.
“We all saw the benefit of bringing three different audiences together from a touring perspective, but none of us were committed to the band until we sat down and actually started making music together,” James told Billboard. “Up to that point, it was just wishful thinking. The first day that we really worked up a few songs to test the waters really sealed the deal for us. Hearing our voices blend together was something that got us all excited and, from that point on, we have all been 100% resolved to make it happen.”
“When we were talking about what to call ourselves we needed to find something we all had in common. Casey and Craig are both from Texas, and I'm from the cornerstone of southern music... New Hampshire (ha). When I was a kid I lived on top of a mountain on a road called Texas Hill Road. My brother and I were always drawn to Southern music as kids, and after high school, he started a band called Texas Hill. The band broke up… My brother passed away before we got to start another band together, so when I brought the idea to Casey and Craig, I hoped they'd be into it. I thought it would be a cool way for my brother to live on in a small way,” Wakefield told Billboard.
The group first tested the Texas Hill concept (then unnamed) with a series of co-headlining shows in late 2019. Since then, they’ve co-written dozens of songs and have recorded a 6-song EP (including “Darkest Sky”) which is expected for release later this summer.
About Texas Hill:
Texas Hill is a gritty amalgam of overlapping tastes and distinct voices that meet in the middle as a bold harmony trio. Craig Wayne Boyd offers a voice full of gospel-tinged country smoke, Adam Wakefield blends a rootsy bluegrass-and-Americana rasp, and Casey James wraps it with a blue-eyed soul quality and deft blues guitar chops. The result is a band that’s both rock solid and highly adaptive. Texas Hill is instantly identifiable, thanks to its well-developed signature sound: a proud, in-your-face harmonic wall. Each of the individual Texas Hill members earned a national presence as contestants on TV music competitions – Boyd and Wakefield were both members of Blake Shelton’s team during different seasons of NBC’s The Voice, and James developed a following during the Simon Cowell era of FOX’s American Idol. The similarities in their TV-tested journeys provided instant bonding. They still work their individual shows, but the trio format brought Texas Hill a comradeship and a level of support that none of them had experienced on their own. The three members of Texas Hill are spokes on a wheel, and the music finds its balance one song at a time through a natural friendship.
To learn more about Texas Hill, visit texashillofficial.com, and follow Texas Hill on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
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