Pocket Strange

Asheville-based Pocket Strange explores the chaotic balance that lies between solace and jubilance.

A half-hearted “we should start a band” conversation during a 2019 road trip became a reality with the release of their first song, Carmel by the Sea – a track recorded in Haydon Welsh’s bedroom in Charlotte when the band was existing as a long-distance duo, with Porter Watson making the trip from Asheville up I-26 to finish their first track in April of 2021.

Since then, Pocket Strange has focused on songwriting and comradery – with founding members Welsh (Guitar, Vocals) and Watson (Bass, Vocals) tapping into a spiritual journey to a South Carolina farm to work on new material in July of 2021. Returning with a stronger creative connection and a handful of songs, it became apparent that they needed to grow their sound. A sonic evolution came to fruition with the addition of Harrison Sytz (Guitar, Vocals), Pierce Deason (Pedal Steel, Percussion) and Jeremy Bryan (Metal Drums) in early 2022, aiding in expanding the types of music they can explore, and fighting the lines drawn by the definitions of genre.

Pocket Strange’s music will transport you somewhere between the tie-dyed side of southern rock and psych-rock indie… with a polite splash of spacy jamming that ties together the loose ends that exist outside the constructs of their songs. They’ve decided to be undecided on where they expect the music to land – and in that realm of the unknown, they are able to connect and float in the “Strange” space that leads the band’s exploration and development.