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The Grooves
(2)
-
Austin, TX -
Cover Band
-
5 Verified Bookings
Spiro T. said “Very professional”
Back to Cover Bands
The Decades Band
- Austin, TX
- Cover Band
- Travels up to 150 miles
- $650 & up for 2-3 hrs / for duo, more for trio
Overview
We typically perform as a duo or trio band, delivering popular cover songs from many decades and genres including Classic-Country; Old-Country; Classic-Rock; 60's-80's-Rock; Blues; Jazz and Pop. We specialize in creating a setlist to match the vibe and theme of your event. And our music almost always inspires dancing.
Our signature attribute is providing a big band sound usually only available from a more expensive 4-7 piece band. Our accompaniment includes Guitar, and synth instruments Flute, Vibes, Organ, Sax, Trombone, Harmonica, & Accordion, whatever the songs require . Add to that the stunning vocals of Diane Tropea and you have created the perfect music experience for your guests.
2 Reviews
Madelyn •
February 15, 2024
They had our guests clapping and even dancing!
I would hire them again.
Hired as:
Cover Band
Cover Band
Laura C. •
August 19, 2023
Just heard this band in Florence at the Vineyard! They were amazing! Her vocals were excellent and his guitar playing was incredible! The variety of songs were so familiar and it sounded so good! Would highly recommend them!
Hired as:
Party Band
Party Band
Response from The Decades Band:
Thanks Laura,
We always have a great time at The Vineyard At Florance, glad you were able to come out for the Grape Stomp. If you are at another of our gigs in the future, please come by the bandstand and say hello, I'll hold a performance CD for you.
Best Regards
Don & Diane
TheDecadesBand
Booking Info
Price Range: $650 & up for 2-3 hrs / for duo, more for trio
Gig Length: 60 - 180 minutes
Languages: English
What to Expect
Though we feel our sample music speaks best to our capabilities and deliverables in addition to client feedback, here is a summary of why you should consider hiring us:
1) Diane Tropea & Don Hubbard have spent a decade developing a quality, fun music experience.
2) Our music consists of familiar songs everyone knows and wants to hear, something for every music taste.
3) Our music targets many genres and decades, so it is never boring.
4) Our music inspires folks to dance even if dancing isn’t the thing at the venue
5) We can tailor our music to just the right vibe for your party, event, or venue.
6) We’ve done over 500 gigs in greater Austin alone, and you can check our references anytime.
7) Our trademark is delivering a much larger big-band sound than a typical duo / trio band does.
8) Our rich accompaniment includes acoustic guitar and over 10 guitar-synth generate lead instruments.
9) You can hire us as a solo, duo or trio act and even pick some of the songs performed.
10) We’ve performed for Corporate Events; Cocktail / Dinner Parties; Weddings; Birthdays;
Festivals; Awards Ceremonies; Fundraisers, Dances; and 5k-Runs.
About
Who Are We
Diane Tropea & Don Hubbard have been performing all around the Austin area since 2016. Diane has been singing since early childhood, did some LA touring in her college days, and lives and works in Hill Country north of Austin. Her vocals are stunning and she has one of those must hear to believe voices. Diane also performs regularly with an 18-piece Big Band (Not Past 11) out of Georgetown Texas. Consider hiring them if you have a very large event where you can use an awesome big band.
Don Hubbard plays lead & rhythm guitar and backup vocals. In addition Don provides multiple guitar-synth lead instruments to add instrumental variety to the music. Changing the lead instruments frequently allows our duo or trio band to sound richer and like a much larger band. That keeps your band costs down with no sacrifice in quality. Additional synth generated lead instruments include Guitar, Sax, Trombone, Piano, Organ, Trumpet, Vibes, Clarinet, Flute, Harmonica, & Accordion.
Experience
'The Decades Band' has performed over 500 gigs in greater Austin alone. Our unique mix of music genres, decades, and varied instruments makes us more flexible so we can adapt the music to just the right vibe for your event theme. We are experienced performing at corporate events; weddings; anniversary; birthday's; outdoor festivals; fundraisers; cocktail / dinner parties; dinner dances; and Awards Ceremonies. We can arrange our set to accommodate cocktail / dinner hour background music, then quickly shift to very lively raise-the-roof dance music. We are among the most flexible of bands when it comes to adapting our music to the needs or your event program and the vibe you desire.
Verifiable Bookings
To help give you confidence we will deliver the music you want, we would be happy to put you in touch with GM's and Owners of venues where we perform regularly so you can confirm our reputation yourself. Even better, come see us at a live performance before deciding. Our public performance calendar is posted among the photos on this site and we will email it to you.
Easiest Way To Describe Our Sound?
If you walked into a venue blindfolded where we are playing, you would likely assume you were listening to a larger 4 to 7 member band. We have carefully created a sound mix with lead instruments inserted to provide a much richer big band sound than is typical for a smaller duo or trio band. We are therefore able to offer you that bigger band sound but at a smaller band price. As for how audiences and venues judge us, please don't take our word for it. We encourage you to read reviews, but most important take a careful listen to our sample music on this site and in our follow up communications. And always feel free to contact our references for reassurance.
IF YOU DECIDE TO BOOK US, PLEASE BOOK EARLY TO LOCK IN YOUR EVENT DATE ON THE CALENDAR.
Additional Booking Notes
Our band has all it's own audio and sound equipment and does not require anything from the venue except 120VAC 15amp power on one standard US receptacle. However, we do have 100% battery operated equipment for up to 6-hours of play time. That is available only upon advanced request by the client.
We do not need any connection to the house systems though if the house requires playing through their house system, the house may supply and drop a pair of XLR cables at our mixer board and we will connect them to our line level XLR stereo outputs on our mixer board. We prefer not to have a venue supplied sound engineer controlling our individual mixes however we are open to discussing premixed feed to the house PA.
We do not require a sound engineer and are accustomed to performing our own mix, EQ and level sets, though we always welcome up/down volume feedback from the client or venue management.
We normally do not bring band lighting with us however upon client request, we will bring modest lighting for just the band setup area.
Services Offered
Upcoming Booked Events
| March 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| March 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| April 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| April 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| May 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| May 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| June 02, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| June 02, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| July 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| July 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| August 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| August 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| September 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| September 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| October 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| October 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| November 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| November 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| December 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| December 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
Past Booked Events
| February 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| February 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| January 01, 2025 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| January 01, 2025 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| December 01, 2024 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| December 01, 2024 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| November 01, 2024 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| November 01, 2024 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| October 01, 2024 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| October 01, 2024 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| September 01, 2024 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| September 01, 2024 • All-day event | CALENDER |
| August 01, 2024 • All-day event | IN PHOTOS |
| August 01, 2024 • All-day event | CALENDAR |
| May 11, 2024 • 1:30pm - 4:00pm | Wedding Reception |
| February 14, 2024 • 7:00pm - 8:30pm | Personal Occasion |
Set List
For clarity we've listed below some we perform often at our gigs.
Multiple Decade Country ( small sample in alphabetical order )
- 9-to-5 (Dolly Parton)
- A Good Run Of Bad Luck (Clint Black)
- Ace In The Hole (George Strait)
- All My Exes Live In Texas (George Strait)
- Always On My Mind (Willy Nelson)
- Amarillo By Morning (George Strait)
- American Kids (Kenny Chesney)
- Blame It On Your Heart (Patty Loveless)
- Blue Skies (Willie Nelson)
- Boot Scootin Boogie (Brooks n Dunn)
- Check Yes or No (George Strait)
- Crazy (Patsy Cline)
- Crazy Woman (Brandy Clark)
- Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue (Crystal Gayle)
- Down At The Twist & Shout (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
- Fancy (Reba McEntire)
- Flowers On The Wall (Statler Brothers)
- For Ever and Ever Amen (Randy Travis)
- Friends In Low Places (Garth Brooks)
- Gentle On My Mind (Glen Campbell)
- Girl Crush (Little Big Town)
- Good Hearted Woman (Waylon Jennings)
- Grandpa (Judds)
- Harper Valley PTA (Jeannie C. Riley)
- I Just Want To Dance With You (George Strait)
- I Never Promised You A Rose Garden (Martina McBride)
- I've Always Been Crazy (Waylon Jennings)
- Jackson (Johnny Cash & June Carter)
- Jambalaya
- King Of The Road (Roger Miller)
- Knee Deep (Zac Brown Band)
- Lady May (Tyler Childers)
- Little Bitty (Alan Jackson)
- Little White Church (Little Big Town)
- Love Me Like You Used Too (Tanya Tucker)
- Man I Feel Like A Woman (Shania Twain)
- Most People Are Good (Luke Bryan)
- On The Road Again (Willie Nelson)
- One More Last Chance (Vince Gill)
- Past The Point Of Rescue (Hal Ketchum)
- Piece Of My Heart (Faith Hill)
- Poncho & Lefty (Will Nelson & Emylou Harris)
- Roll Me Up & Smoke Me (Willie Nelson)
- Save The Last Dance For Me
- Seven Spanish Angels (Ray Charles & Willie Nelson)
- Small Town Saturday Night (Hal Ketchum)
- Southern Nights (Glen Campbell)
- Stay Forever (Hal Ketchum)
- Strawberry Wine (Deanna Carter)
- Streets Of Bakersfield (Dwight Yoakam)
- Stripes ( Brandy Clark)
- Suds In The Bucket (Sara Evans)
- Take me Home Country Roads (John Denver)
- Tennessee Whiskey (Dean Dillon / Linda Hargrove)
- The Chair (George Strait)
- The Dance (Garth Brooks)
- The Fireman (George Strait)
- The House That Built Me (Miranda Lambert)
- The Party's Over (Willy Nelson)
- The Wayward Wind (Eddy Arnold)
- Hey Good Lookin (Hank Williams Senior)
- Tulsa Time (Eric Clapton)
- Walking After Midnight (Patsy Cline)
- Two More Bottles Of Wine (Emmylou Harris)
- Watermelon Crawl (Tracy Byrd)
- When The Sun Goes Down (Kenny Chesney)
- When You Say Nothing At All (Alison Krauss)
- White Lightning - (George Jones)
- Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under (Shania Twain)
- Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton)
- You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man (Loretta Lynn)
- You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma (David Frizzell & Shelly West)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a demonstration of how our music set can be all-over-the-map, below are mixed genre
and mixed decades song titles we often perform at Wineries in random order
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Since I Fell For You (Bonnie Raitt)
- Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel)
- On The Road Again (Willie Nelson)
- Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)
- Roll me Up And Smoke Me (Willie Nelson)
- Rock Around The Clock (Elvis)
- Here, There and Everywhere (Beatles)
- Sunday Kind Of Love (Etta James)
- Route 66
- Ain't That A Kick In The Head (Dean Martin)
- Besame Mucho (Diana Krall)
- Come Away With Me (Norah Jones)
- L.O.V.E. (Frank Sinatra)
- Sunday Morning (Maroon 5)
- Crazy (Patsy Cline)
- Mack The Knife (Bobby Darin)
- La Isla Bonita
- Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
- You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man (Loretta Lynn)
- The House That Built Me (Miranda Lambert)
- Stripes (Brandy Clark)
- When The Sun Goes Down (Kenney Chesney)
- I'm The Only One (Melissa Etheridge)
- Always On My Mind (Willie Nelson)
- When You Say Nothing At All (Alison Krauss)
- Ace In The Hole (George Strait)
- One More Last Chance (Vince Gill)
- Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mad)
- Strawberry Wine (Deanna Carter)
- Nobody (Silvia)
- I've Always Been Crazy (Waylong Jennings)
- Small Town Saturday Night (Hal Ketchum)
- Past The Point Of No Return (Hal Ketchum)
- Little Bitty (Alan Jackson)
- Streets Of Bakersfield (Dwight Yoakam)
- Piece Of My Heart (Faith Hill)
- Down At The Twist & Shout (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
- Mama's Broken Heart (Miranda Lambert)
- Jambalaya
- Most People Are Good (Luke Bryan)
- Tulsa Time (Eric Clapton)
- Two More Bottles Of Wine (Emmylou Harris)
- Jolene (Dolly Parton)
- Something To Talk About (Bonnie Raitt)
- Love Me Like You Used To (TanyaTucker)
- Wade In The Water (Eva Cassidy)
- Save The Last Dance For me (Paul Anka)
- Jackson (Johnny Cash & Linda Carter)
- I Never Promised You A Rose Garden (Martina McBride)
- Flowers On The Wall (Statler Brothers)
- City Of New Orleans ( Steve Goodman)
- Harper Valley PTA (Jeannie C. Riley)
- I'm Yours (Jason Mraz)
- The Dance (Garth Brooks)
- Johnny B Good (Chuck Berry)
- Could I Have This Dance (Anne Murray)
- All I Wanna Do (Cheryl Crow)
- Bennie and the jets (Elton John)
- If I Die Young (The Band Perry)
- Blue Bayou (Linda Ronstadt)
- Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
- Bury Me Beneath The Willow (Alison Krause)
- But I'm The Only One (Melissa Etheridge)
- Blame it On Your Heart (Patty Loveless)
- Caramel (Suzanne Vega)
- Little White Church (Little Big Town)
- Chain Of Fools (Aretha Franklin)
- Come Away With Me (Norah Jones)
- Don't Know Why (Norah Jones)
- Don't Ask Me Why (Billy Joel)
- Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue (Crystal Gayle)
- Don't Think Twice (Bob Dylan)
- A Thousand Years (Christina Perri)
- Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)
- Ex's and Oh's (Ella King)
- Girl Crush (Little Big Town)
- King Of The Road (Roger Miller)
- When I Get Low I Get High
- Hallelujah I Love Her So (Ray Charles)
- Have You Ever Seen The Rain (CCR)
- Here We Go Again (Nora Jones & Ray Charles)
- House Of The Rising Sun (The Animals)
- Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
- It's Too Late Baby (Carole King)
- Pink Houses (John Mellencamp)
- Gentile On My Mind (Glen Campbell)
- Love Will Keep Us Alive (The Eagles)
- Wicked Game (Chris Issak)
- Me and Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin)
- Moondance (Van Morrison)
- Moonriver
- My Eyes Adored You (Frankie Valli)
- Only The Lonely (The Motels)
- Secret Agent Man (Johnny Rivers)
- The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia
- Smooth Operator (Sade)
- Son of a Preacher Man (Aretha Franklin)
- These Boots Are Made for Walking (Nancy Sinatra)
- Walking After Midnight (Patsy Cline)
- Apache (Ventures instrumental 60's beach song)
- Hotel California (The Eagles)
- How Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees instrumental)
- Knee Deep (Zac Brown Band instrumental)
- Hard Times (Ray Charles)
- Ain't No Sunshine When You're Gone (Bill Withers)
- Layla (Eric Clapton)
- Stay Forever (Hal Ketchum)
- I Just Want To Dance With You (George Strait)
- All My Exes Live In Texas (George Strait)
- Forever Ever and Ever Amen (Randy Travis)
- Home (Blake Shelton)
- Dream Baby (Roy Orbison)
- Sweet Georgia Brown
- You Never Even Called Me By My Name (David Allan Coe)
- My Girl
- My Eyes Adored You (Frankie Valli)
- Check Yes or No (George Strait)
- Sleep Walk (Frankie & Johnny Farina guitar instrumental)
- The Fireman (George Strait)
- Poncho & Lefty (Willie Nelson & Emmylou Harris)
- Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)
- You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma (David Frizzell and Shelly West)
- Mean Woman Blues (Elvis)
- Good Hearted Woman (Waylon Jennings)
- The Way You Look Tonight (Tony Bennett)
- What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
- Something To Talk Abut (Bonnie Raitt)
- Crazy Women (Brandy Clark)
- Watermelon Man (Herbie Hancock guitar instrumental)
- Take The A Train (Duke Ellington - guitar / trombone instrumental)
- They Can't Take That Away From Me (Frank Sinatra)
- That's Life (Frank Sinatra)
- Sunnyside Of The Street (Frank Sinatra)
- Sunday Morning (Maroon 5)
- What's Up (4 Non Blonds)
Influences & Inspiration
As a multi-genre cover band our influences are far and wide and as a result our music is all over the map. It would literally take hours to list them all here.
What we can say is we attempt to cherry pick the best songs of every artist whose covers we perform. We try hard to perform their songs as authentically as possible because we feel audiences expect to hear them as the artist originally delivered them, not with huge alterations. As a result, when a popular song starts up we often hear a brief audience reaction because they recognize the intro and are anticipating what is coming. For example, when a song like Dream by Stevie Nicks begins, audiences immediately react to the fairly long intro and we appreciate hearing that candid audience feedback.
Though the list of artist influences is quite long, here is a short list in alphabetical order:
Adele; Alan Jackson; Alison Krause; Anne Murry; Aretha Franklin; Bette Midler; Billie Holiday; Blonde; Bob Dylan; Bobby Darin; Brandy Clark; Carly Simon; Carole King; CCR; Cheryl Crow; Chris Issak; Chuck Berry; David Allan Coe; Dolly Parton; Dunn & Brooks; Eagles; Ella Fitzgerald; Ella King; Elton John; Elvis; Emmylou Harris; Eric Clapton; Etta James; Eva Cassidy; Faith Hill; Fleetwood Mac; Frank Sinatra; Frankie Valli; Garth Brooks; George Benson; George Jones; George Strait; Gladys Knight; Glen Campbell; Gloria Estefan; Gordon Lightfoot; Hal Ketchum; Hank Williams; Herbe Hancock; Jason Mraz; Jeannie C. Riley; John Mellencamp; Johnny Cash; Leonard Cohen; Linda Ronstadt; Little Big Town; Loretta Lynn; Louis Armstrong; Madonna; Mama's and Papa's; Martina McBride; Mary Chapin Carpenter; Melissa Etheridge; Merle Haggard; Miranda Lambert; Motels; Neil Young; Norah Jones; Pat Benatar; Patsy Cline; Patty Loveless; Peggy Lee; Pretenders; Randy Travis; Ray Charles; Ricky Nelson; Ritchie Valens; Robert Plant; Roger Miller; Roy Orbison; Sam Cooke; Shania Twain; Shocking Blue; Simon & Garfunkel; Statler Brothers; The Animals; The Carpenters; The Cascades; The Casinos; The Drifters; The Judds; The Kinks; The Monkees; The Motels; The Pretenders; The Supremes; Tina Turner; Tom Petty; Townes Van Zandt; Tracy Byrd; Van Morrison; Ventures; Vince Gill; Waylon Jennings; Willie Nelson; Zac Brown Band.
Setup Requirements
We provide all our own equipment and do not require connection to house systems and do not need a house audio tech.
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