Draft:Tumbleweed Hill

• Comment: Please see WP:NBAND. Hitro talk 21:18, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

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Tumbleweed Hill is a Country and Western band based in Round Rock, Texas. The band was formed in 2014 by John Nelms and Jonathan Sherwin and originally operated under the name The Porch Turtles. The name changed in February 2020 to better identify the band's unique country sound. The band has released several singles and at least two albums. Their debut album, titled Eleven Songs, released in 2023, received favorable reviews from fans and critics alike. The group continues to perform in dancehalls around Texas.

Founders and Origin

With a career in telecommunications, Jonathan Sherwin and John Nelms became friends in a corporate setting, meeting in 2012. Sherwin, a resident of the Houston area and Nelms, a resident of the Austin area didn't discover their similar interests in music until 2014, when Sherwin moved to the Austin area.​

They both worked in an office that fostered learning new skills. Their mutual employer sponsored a Battle of the Bands competition where the pair formed a band. Of the thirty participants grouped for competition, Sherwin and Nelms were grouped together into the same band. Each band in the competition contained five members. Seeing as the competition was to encourage learning new things, each participant was required to learn a new musical instrument. Sherwin knew how to play guitar and bass, so he chose to learn drums. Meanwhile, Nelms knew fiddle and guitar, so he decided to learn bass guitar. Their new group, known as The Five 9's, competed with five other bands from Austin, showcasing their talent onstage at Speakeasy in Austin. Their band later went on to compete internationally, with regional winners from six other locations, where they won the global competition. Riding high on this accomplishment, the pair continued their journey of making great music together.

While all the members of the original band were not retained, Sherwin and Nelms elected to fill their roster of musicians with local talent found around the Austin area. Meeting and auditioning many new faces, they found a group of five musicians to form The Porch Turtles, which would eventually become Tumbleweed Hill. Sherwin remained on the drums while Nelms returned to the acoustic guitar. The other founding members included Paul Gauntt on electric bass guitar, Mack Quinney on keys, and Ken Metcalf on electric and pedal steel guitar. Mack later played both pedal steel and keys during shows after Ken's departure.

History as The Porch Turtles

Throughout 2016 and 2017, The Porch Turtles began performing at places such as The Brass Tap in Round Rock, Texas, Dale's Essenhaus in Walburg, Texas, the Hall of Fame in Hutto, Texas, and Midway in Austin, Texas, the band found a solid following for their blend of Texas Dancehall classics, with audiences praising their inclusion of pedal steel guitar and vocal harmonies. The group acquired a couple of new members during this time, including Paul Ivie on electric bass and Chuck Interrante on electric guitar.

Appearing at the Georgetown Christmas Stroll in December 2017, The Porch Turtles elevated their resume, with booking requests from a number of venues. They began playing a wider range of venues with larger shows and now made regular appearances at Whitestone Brewery, Hardtails, Millers, Bomb Diggity, CJ's, and Guadalupe Brewing Company. Their travels ultimately brought them to RodeoHouston in 2018, where they played the World's Largest BBQ Cookoff, a highlight of their time together as The Porch Turtles. Local musician Paul Turney joined the band on electric bass in November of 2017. Interestingly, all the band's bass players have been named Paul.

The group began booking significantly more private parties and playing shows with cities and local governments, including Georgetown Red Poppy Festival, Round Rock Market Days, Humane Heroes, Field of Honor, Rotary and fundraisers for local first responders.

During 2019, the group booked their first ever show at the legendary Luckenbach Texas, a new highlight for their career. The group also booked a Christmas show at the historic Riley's Tavern, the first bar to open in Texas after the fall of prohibition. Soon to follow, Mercer Dancehall, a beautiful dancehall near Driftwood, Texas booked the group for a Christmas show. Nelms had a love for Christmas music and insisted that the band play a Christmas song every other song, comprising over 50% of the overall set list. The owners of Mercer Dancehall, Gay and Nick Dotin, were delighted by the group's flashy Christmas costumes that sparkled in the spotlight. The dancefloor stayed full throughout the evening as the attendees donned their best Christmas attire. The group added Greg Justus on electric guitar.

Tumbleweed Hill Naming

Fans at both Luckenbach Dancehall and Mercer Dancehall were helpful to point out that the name The Porch Turtles did not invoke an image of the style of music being played. It was difficult for new fans to associate a genre of music with the name of the band. Looking back to those early days when Sherwin and Nelms played their very first show together, they knew the name had to be Tumbleweed Hill, a steep hill in west Austin on Ranch Road 2222. It was near here at an office building at Ranch Road 620 and Ranch Road 2222 in 2014 that the pair began playing music together. The name also pays homage to old Austin, as the hill got its name from the Texas Tumbleweed restaurant located at the top of the hill. Known for their massive steaks and huge dance floor with live music. It unfortunately burned down in the late 1980's and never reopened. However, the hill kept its name and it was a fitting name for the band's sound.

Evolution into Dancehalls

Upon changing their name, the group focused on only playing venues with large open dance floors. They were offered a monthly residency at Mercer Dancehall that they still maintain today on the first Sunday of every month. Additionally, Luckenbach Texas, where they had only played the outdoor stages up until this point, offered them regular shows inside their legendary dancehall. In nearby Granger, Texas, Cotton Country Club began offering Tumbleweed Hill shows inside their historic dancehall. Throughout 2020, while the pandemic dampened live music opportunities, Tumbleweed Hill found opportunities to play venues that were outside and allowed social distancing. Luckily, there was not a huge impact to their performance schedule and the group continued to play 4-5 shows per month. In October 2020, they released their first single, To Each His Own, and had a launch celebration in Luckenbach Texas on October 25.

In January 2021, The White Horse East Austin Honky-tonk offered a month of Sunday shows to the band, where they became regulars. While they did not maintain that Sunday schedule, Tumbleweed Hill continued to play semi-monthly on Friday nights there throughout the years ahead.

The group continued to release new music, releasing singles for It's All Coming Back to Me Now on February 20, 2021, Dance in the Rain on April 1, 2021, and One of These Days on May 1, 2021. That summer, they packaged these singles and added a new track, The Saddest Part, on their debut EP Album, A Moment in Time. Later that year, Tumbleweed Hill released their first Christmas single, Pretty Paper, a cover of Willie Nelson's timeless holiday waltz.

A new venue in Georgetown with a beautiful façade and listening room called Barrels & Amps hosted a new concept for the city throughout the summers of 2021 and 2022: Two Step Tuesdays. Tumbleweed Hill was a regular performer on Tuesdays. Additionally, the group began playing John T. Floore's Country Store - a legendary live music destination in Helotes, Texas. In May 2021, the group added Sam Blumenthal on pedal steel guitar. He remains with the group today. In August 2021, the group added Jerry Renshaw on electric guitar. Jerry remains active with various other bands around the Austin area, including Bakersfield TX.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, the group continued to grow and fulfill their dreams playing bucket list honky-tonks and dancehalls throughout Texas, adding places like Bo's Barn Dancehall, Lonesome Rose, Little Longhorn, Sagebrush, Globe Theatre, Poodie's, and the Hall in Holland (2268). They also continued to release new honky-tonk music, including Best of Times, a great song for those who reminisce about the glory days of driving. Can You Imagine, a jazzy country number that has New Orleans vibes, No Difference, a fun dancehall shuffle, and Growing Old, a humorous take of a couple aging and living life together. The group also released their first full album, Eleven Songs. In December 2022, they released their first Christmas album, Red White and Blue Christmas, featuring covers of Blue Christmas and their previous single, Pretty Paper. It also included a new take on White Christmas and a brand new original waltz, known as Red Christmas. The band also included their twangy Christmas original dancehall shuffle, Merry Christmas Darling. Additional studio musicians on these albums included Lew Thomas, Justin Farrow, and Geoff Queen. Guitarist Dirk Sincler joined the band in April 2022.

In 2024, the band increased their marketing exposure by adding additional merchandise featuring new logos and styles. The band was also invited to play the historic Broken Spoke, a venue they had been targeting for several years. They now regularly appear at Cotton Country Club, Luckenbach Texas, Bo's Barn, Globe Theatre, John T. Floore's, Lonesome Rose, and Mercer Dancehall and love keeping this iconic genre of music alive in amazing venues with big dance floors all around the state of Texas.