The Voice and American Idol Contestants Form Country Supergroup Texas Sky
The Voice season seven winner Craig Wayne Boyd, season 10 runner up Adam Wakefield and American Idol season nine’s third-place finalist Casey James have joined together to form country trio Texas Hill. It’s perhaps the first reality show super group ever!
The three artists performed several shows together as solo artists this past fall. At which point, the idea of the trio formed.
“The first day that we really worked up a few songs to test the waters really sealed the deal for us,” Casey told Billboard magazine. “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.”
Texas Hill releases their first single “Darkest Sky”
Texas Hill just released their first single “Darkest Sky,” which contains a message that resonates in these turbulent times. “I had been spending some time down in Muscle Shoals writing with one of my favorite writers and artists, James LeBlanc. After one of the writing sessions, James played me ‘Darkest Sky.’ I asked for a copy of it and listened to it all the way back from Muscle Shoals to Nashville,” Craig said. “I sent it to the boys because I felt like it was definitely a message that we could relate to in our own lives and careers —not knowing that the world would be taken by a pandemic a few months later—and it fit right into how we feel about it all.”
The three WILL continue their solo careers. “Each of us having our own personal outlet that we have full control over is a key element to keeping any of us from pushing the band too hard in our own direction. It’s a very important element in the way that this band does things,” Casey said.
The band name has an emotional backstory
The band name has a poignant beginning, as Adam explains: “We needed to find something we all had in common. Casey and Craig are both from Texas. When I was a kid I lived on a road called Texas Hill Road [in New Hampshire]. My brother and I were always drawn to Southern music as kids, and after high school, he started a band called Texas Hill. I was going to join them after school instead of going to college.
The band broke up before I graduated and I went to music school instead. My brother passed away before we got to start another band together, so when I brought the idea to Casey and Craig. I thought it would be a cool way for my brother to live on in a small way. Ultimately, when I told the fellas that it would make my mom happy it was a done deal. Nothing trumps the mom card.”
Currently, Texas Hill are working on an album at Nashville’s Ocean Way Studios. The Covid-19 pandemic has halted work on it for now, however. They hope to hit the road later this summer or fall.
Check out the official video for “Darkest Sky” below.
The clip cuts between the three in the studio, and at-home performances. Casey, singing lead, is unrecognizable!
