Jaxton Weatherly Wasn't a Bass Player. Then His Friends Needed One.

The call that brought Jaxton Weatherly into the band came with a catch. A band was forming. It needed a bass player. He was a drummer.

"I wasn't really a 'Bass player,'" the 13-year-old from Frisco said. "But I figured I could get the hang of it."

This month, that band won.

Airbourne Tex took first place in the youth division of North Texas Got Talent on Sept. 13, the competition run by North Texas Performing Arts. The organization's studios managing director, Gregory McKnight, confirmed by email that 10 youth acts reached the finals out of 48 youth auditions, and 72 auditions overall. Alexia Orta placed second in the division and Reagan Hammond third.

Jaxton's bandmates are Maryanne Hilton, 13, of Plano on guitar and lead vocals, and Lucas Rehl, 14, of Prosper on drums. At the finals at The Winston School in Dallas, the three played a shortened version of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine."

Jaxton remembers the announcement physically: "a boost of excitement in my stomach and just screaming and running out on the stage."

McKnight said the group "had a strong stage presence and seemed to have a great support system behind them," and praised this year's finalists for cheering each other on backstage.

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From drums to bass

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Jaxton and Maryanne had met four years earlier at Septien Entertainment Group, in a singing program called Tweenation. When the band was forming, Maryanne's mother called Jaxton's mother about him joining. Jaxton had never met Lucas at all.

"I had never met Lucas before but we locked in real fast," he said.

The instrument was the bigger leap. He had been a drummer, and his taste ran to '70s and '80s rock, so when the plan was a country band, his parents, Heather and Ty Weatherly, were not sure he would even be interested.

"But he wanted to give it a try, and he really went all in," they wrote. "He worked hard to become a strong bass player and learn the songs on his own without either of us having to push him."

The band settled on a mix of country and classic rock, and something else happened along the way.

"He has discovered that he actually enjoys music outside of what he had always listened to," his parents wrote. "Seeing him step outside what was familiar, take on something new and really make it his own has been one of my favorite parts of watching this band grow."

He has also started writing and arranging, both new to him. "He's starting to contribute ideas, help work out arrangements and think about how the different pieces of a song fit together," they wrote.

A dance hall, a handshake, a band

It started on a stage in Gruene, Texas. Maryanne went to hear a band called The Red Iron Push at Gruene Hall, talked with the musicians on their break and was invited up to sing. Lucas's mother happened to be in the room, introduced herself afterward and mentioned that her son played drums.

"Gruene Hall started it all," Jaxton said.

The name came later, and by elimination. Lucas wants to fly and Maryanne's family lives on an airstrip, so Airborne, spelled the usual way, seemed an obvious fit. Airborne Tex was taken, so the band became Airbourne Tex.

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Sundays, school and stamina

Rehearsal is Sunday, the one day three school schedules line up, with the occasional weeknight added. Between the band, theater, private lessons and homework, his parents call the whole thing a family effort.

Jaxton names the real obstacle as stamina rather than talent: too much schoolwork, too little time to rehearse, tired kids forgetting their parts. The fix is that everyone practices alone, then arrives ready to work.

What months in close quarters with two other teenagers have taught him, he put plainly.

"Yes, sometimes it can be tough, disagreeing on things, getting sick of each other, but it all pays off at the end and you just love each other and become like family."

Where to hear them next

First up is Richardson's free Cottonwood Art Festival, where Airbourne Tex plays the Acoustic Stage at 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. Richardson's Huffhines Harvest Fest has the band at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, on the Front Porch Stage; that festival is free and runs Oct. 17 and 18 at Huffhines Park.

Sources

Interviews: written answers from Maryanne Hilton, Jaxton Weatherly and Lucas Rehl and their parents, provided through band media contact Mike Rehl, Sept. 18, 2026.

Gregory McKnight, studios managing director, North Texas Performing Arts, by email, Sept. 17, 2026.

North Texas Got Talent, North Texas Performing Arts

Airbourne Tex

Huffhines Harvest Fest stage schedule

Cottonwood Art Festival stage schedule