About

Our story

Rex Hatfield and Jeff Hoffman met at a weekly gathering of guitar players in Sun City, TX. They started performing together as a duo in the Fall of 2019, calling themselves Almost Austin. The name came from the fact that whenever Jeff had to describe to friends in Dallas where he had moved, he'd tell them "you drive south on I-35 about 165 miles, you know, almost Austin..."

The pair performed in local venues including Hardtails Bar & Grille, Ken'z Backstage, Cowan Creek Amphitheater and Mulligan's Restaurant & Bar, and opened shows for musicians including Darden Smith, Bill Kirchen and Three Chord Rodeo. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Almost Austin streamed shows online and performed outdoors for neighbors and friends. As the quarantine ended, in January 2022, Almost Austin opened the first show in the newly created Rockin' Retreat Rhythm Review series of live music shows, held monthly in Sun City, TX.

In February, 2022, Almost Austin added a bass player, Jim Strudel, and performed as a trio in March, 2022 at the Rockin' Retreat show. Jim had previously been a member of another popular local band, and knew the drummer, Gary McElwee, and the keyboard player, who were also looking to hook up with a different band. We all got together in Gary's garage for a first practice and it seemed we were a match, however, it wasn't a fit for the the keyboard guy. Next we auditioned John Milburn on keys and it was a match.

As a 5-piece band, Almost Austin became a fixture in the local music scene, in 2022-23 playing twice for the annual Sertoma Club 4th of July Celebration, at Ken'z Backstage, Cowan Creek Amphitheater, Mulligan's Restaurant and Bar, the Veterans' Day Field of Honor Ceremony in San Gabriel Park, Travisso Clubhouse, Williams Grove, Whiskey Barrel Pub, Agape BBQ, anniversary and Christmas parties and more. Almost Austin performed as a 5-piece classic rock band until August, 2023, when Rex and Jeff made the decision to change the personnel of the band and cut Gary, Jim and John from the lineup.

In November 2023 Almost Austin added Jack Daniel on percussion, and in February 2024, Roger Bono joined Almost Austin on bass. Check out the Upcoming Shows list on our home page for dates/times/locations of our shows. Hope to see you there!