The Hawthorne Experience

The Tucson AZ based Surf-Funk power-trio anomaly known as The Hawthorne Experience is showing out to bend sound, time and sanity into something entirely their own.

The three young misfits took early inspiration from the 70’s psychedelic era -Jimi Hendrix, The Doors - but it wasn’t until the vibrancy and sheer exuberance of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus and The Meters' Funk pulsated and permeated the practice room walls that The Hawthorne Experience’s truly one of a kind 'Surf-Funk' sound was born.


Their comedic candor and natural born stage presence, paired with memorable hooks and tasteful improvisational byways make their live act a spectacle that’s worth the price of admission week after week.

In October ‘24 they took their newfound sound to Star City Studios (El Paso, TX). With Eric Boseman at the helm and Victor Moreno’s engineering team capturing every warped note, they returned home triumphant with a 10-track odyssey that unravels the soul and pulls listeners deeper into the unknown. The band will release their self-titled debut album in July 2025. 

But that's not how it started. In 2019, two brothers, Will and Kenny Belcher, started fiddling with some cheap mics, a Scarlet interface and some musical instruments in their parent's spare room in their hometown of Austin Texas as a result of the global pandemic lockdowns. At the time, Will had just barely started his freshman year of college at The University of Arizona (Tucson) and Kenny was merely a junior at Veritas Academy high school. 

Something extremely unique about the band's founding brothers is that they began recording just months after picking up their instruments for the first time. This "record-first-learn-later" approach allowed the boys to bypass the imposter phase and get straight to songwriting. It also showed them that true inspiration doesn't have to come from a music classroom, but can be found by those who simply seek it out.  

The result of their first recording experiment was the band's first album, February '71. The album features 10 tracks that swerve, drag and miraculously come together in a hallowed churning soup of harmony, emotion and early inklings of some of the band's fundamental messages. Whistle In The Dark became a staple of the bands early discography. The song describes a metaphorical "whistle in the dark" as the universal force of guidance and encouragement through uncertain times. Will's lyricism reflects a certain "hopeless optimism" that has served as one of the core tenants of The Hawthorne Experience to this day. The rest of February '71 hits on topics as ancillary as the morning cup of coffee they adore so deeply or as resonant as learning to let go and allow the dance of life to take. It will always be revered as the band's most honest work - a simple reflection of their souls at a time in their lives where music was nothing more than an instinct - unfiltered, untainted, and driven by the pure thrill of creation.

After February '71 found its way into the hands of close friends and family—met with surprise, warmth, and unexpected admiration—its quiet success intensified the boy's newfound lust for creating music. But they wanted knew they had a lot of work to do.