Biography
The Deslondes are a New Orleans–based Americana and alt‑country band whose roots stretch back to a loose community of young folk and country musicians orbiting the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, Oklahoma. Singer‑guitarist Sam Doores, who grew up singing in Bay Area Black Baptist church choirs and playing in school jazz bands, met drummer/percusionist Cameron Snyder while both were college students in the Pacific Northwest; inspired in part by Woody Guthrie’s memoir Bound for Glory, they quit school, formed the band Broken Wing Routine, and hit the road, eventually landing at WoodyFest.[1][3] There they crossed paths with Missouri‑born singer‑guitarist Riley Downing and bassist Dan Cutler, a Detroit native who had studied audio engineering at Berklee before relocating to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.[1][3] Doores and Cutler formed a country‑leaning group called The Tumbleweeds in New Orleans, while Snyder played with The Longtime Goners and met multi‑instrumentalist John James Tourville; by the time Snyder, Tourville, and Downing all drifted to New Orleans, the core five‑piece that would become The Deslondes was in place, jamming in an abandoned Lower Ninth Ward high school left empty since Katrina.[1][4]
Initially known as The Tumbleweeds, the band toured widely and also served as the backing band and collaborators for Alynda Segarra’s Hurray for the Riff Raff, developing their reputation in the Americana underground.[1][4][9] Legal and practical conflicts with other groups using the Tumbleweeds name, including a long‑standing Scandinavian band, eventually forced a rebrand, and the musicians adopted the name The Deslondes from Deslonde Street in New Orleans’ Holy Cross neighborhood, where Doores lived and where the group wrote, rehearsed, and recorded in a communal house.[1][3][4][7] Signed by New West Records, they released their self‑titled debut album in June 2015, a ramshackle, blues‑tinged collection that showcased their democratic songwriting approach and multiple lead vocalists.[1][6] Over the ensuing years they released additional albums and toured extensively, briefly pausing activity before reuniting; original drummer Cameron Snyder ultimately stepped away from the band due to the demands of touring and was replaced by Howe Pearson, who had also played with Doores and Hurray for the Riff Raff.[3] With more than 15 years together, four albums, and countless live shows, The Deslondes have become a cult‑favorite country band, admired for their rough‑hewn harmonies and deeply rooted storytelling.[5]
Musically, The Deslondes draw on a wide spectrum of American roots traditions, reflecting both their travels and the sonic heritage of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. They explicitly embrace an “anything‑goes” philosophy that folds together classic country, hobo folk, rural blues, rockabilly, New Orleans R&B, Third Ward jazz, swamp pop, and even traces of crust punk, filtered through an ethos shaped by Woody Guthrie’s protest folk and obscure Southern artists like Cast King and Abner Jay.[3][5] Critics have described their sound as a rowdy, twang‑heavy strain of country infused with the R&B legacy of their hometown, while the band itself emphasizes its fully collaborative identity: all five members write, sing, and play multiple instruments, and songs are deliberately passed around among different voices.[4][6] Their work with kindred New Orleans outfits such as Hurray for the Riff Raff, and high‑profile touring slots including an opening run with Alabama Shakes in 2014, have cemented their reputation as one of contemporary Americana’s most distinctive and tradition‑steeped ensembles, carrying forward a folk‑country lineage while grounding it in modern social consciousness and community‑based music‑making.[1][3][4]
Fun Facts
- The band’s name comes from Deslonde Street in the Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, where Sam Doores lived and where the group first wrote, rehearsed, and recorded together in a communal house.[3][4]
- Before becoming The Deslondes, the core members played under several different banners—including Broken Wing Routine, The Longtime Goners, and especially The Tumbleweeds—touring extensively and even serving as Hurray for the Riff Raff’s backing band.[1][4][9]
- A longstanding Scandinavian band that had been using the name The Tumbleweeds since the 1970s forced the group to abandon their original moniker, prompting the name change to The Deslondes just as their career was taking off.[3][7]
- Drummer Cameron Snyder left the band after their reunion because of the strain of touring, and was replaced by Howe Pearson, who had already been playing with Sam Doores and Hurray for the Riff Raff; bandmate John James Tourville said Pearson “seamlessly became a Deslonde.”[3]
Musical Connections
Mentors/Influences
- Woody Guthrie - Ideological and stylistic folk influence; Doores was deeply inspired by Guthrie’s memoir Bound for Glory and the band’s members coalesced around repeated trips to the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. (Inspiration for early band Broken Wing Routine; recurring pilgrimages to Woody Guthrie Folk Festival (WoodyFest) in Okemah, Oklahoma.) [Mid‑2000s–2010s]
- Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint - Key New Orleans R&B and piano‑driven influences informing the band’s incorporation of local rhythm‑and‑blues and swamp‑pop elements into their country framework. (General influence on The Deslondes’ blending of New Orleans R&B, swamp pop, and Americana as described in their official biography.) [Influence recognized throughout band’s career (2000s–present)]
- Cast King and Abner Jay - Obscure Southern roots and outsider artists whose recordings the band members bonded over, shaping their taste for raw, idiosyncratic country and blues storytelling. (Referenced as shared listening touchstones and part of the sonic tradition The Deslondes aimed to carry forward.) [Formative influence during the band’s early New Orleans years and WoodyFest era (late 2000s–2010s)]
Key Collaborators
- Hurray for the Riff Raff (Alynda Segarra) - New Orleans folk‑Americana band with whom The Deslondes members extensively toured and recorded; The Deslondes (then The Tumbleweeds) often served as backing and touring band. (Touring and performing as members and backing band for Hurray for the Riff Raff; long‑term shared lineups and joint tours prior to and around The Deslondes’ 2015 debut.) [Late 2000s–mid‑2010s]
- Alabama Shakes - The Deslondes secured a key opening slot on tour, which coincided with their transition from The Tumbleweeds to The Deslondes and helped raise their profile. (Support/opening performances for Alabama Shakes that “cemented” the name change from The Tumbleweeds to The Deslondes.) [2014]
- Broken Wing Routine - Pre‑Deslondes band featuring Sam Doores and Cameron Snyder that laid the groundwork for their later songwriting partnership and folk‑country direction. (Touring and performances, including at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, prior to the formation of The Tumbleweeds and eventually The Deslondes.) [Mid‑ to late‑2000s]
- The Longtime Goners - Band that included Cameron Snyder and John James Tourville, fostering the musical relationship that would later carry into The Deslondes. (Live performances and collaborations in New Orleans before Tourville and Snyder joined The Tumbleweeds/Deslondes lineup.) [Late‑2000s–early‑2010s]
Artists Influenced
- No specific artists reliably documented - Available sources focus on The Deslondes’ own influences and collaborators; they are praised as an under‑the‑radar but important country band, yet concrete, named proteges or artists explicitly citing them as a primary influence are not documented in current major sources. (N/A) [N/A]
External Links
References
Heard on WWOZ
The Deslondes has been played 2 times on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.
| Date | Time | Title | Show | Spotify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9, 2026 | 00:31 | I Got Found | Midnight Music | |
| Oct 30, 2025 | 21:03 | Muddy Waterfrom Hurry Home (New West Records) | R&Bw/ Your Cousin Dimitri |