Local band Pickpocket to kick off new tour with Mansfield band MIDDLING Saturday

[Left to Right] Kurtis Blevins, Carter Kujawa and Hunter Moore make up screamo band Pickpocket. Credit: Chandler Moyer

The tour officially begins in Columbus, with a free show at Marlboro Manor scheduled for Saturday. From there, the two bands will play in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia before concluding their travels in New York City Dec. 3, according to Pickpocket’s Instagram page.

Pickpocket comprises guitarist and vocalist Hunter Moore, bassist Carter Kujawa and drummer Kurtis Blevins. Moore said the trio began collaborating in fall 2022, but its individual members have been making music since middle school.

“Over the past couple of years, me and Kurtis have been jamming for a long time, but we had never really made a whole lot of music,” Moore said.

After a few years, Blevins and Moore began making music with Kujawa, whom Moore said he had known since elementary school. The establishment of Pickpocket marked the first time all three members decided to take creating music more seriously, Blevins said.

“[Pickpocket was] a bit more focused; we had more of a direction,” Blevins said.

Moore agreed. Even so, he said the group never quite lost its sense of childlike fun.

“That was probably the whole crux of it,” Moore said. “Making music is fun and making music with your friends is awesome.”

Pickpocket primarily takes inspiration from emo band Indian Summer, post-hardcore band Drive Like Jehu and punk rock band Fugazi, Moore said.

When performing live, Blevins said he looks forward to the sheer adrenaline rush that comes with engaging an audience.

“When you’re playing, it’s such a different type of euphoria,” Blevins said. “It’s something that I’ve wanted to do since I was so little. It’s just so much fun, every time, getting up there and doing what I love.”

Moore said Pickpocket traveled with MIDDLING across the Midwest in late October, playing shows in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. Receiving another opportunity to tour with MIDDLING is extremely exciting for Pickpocket, Moore said.

“The first tour we did with them was a blast,” Moore said. “We’re already all good friends, so it made it easy to get along.”

Before the new tour dates were confirmed, Pickpocket and MIDDLING were originally asked to play at the Dilly Dally Fest — a music festival presented by Bread Box Philly — Dec. 1 and 2 in Philadelphia. After booking the festival gig, both bands decided to organize some additional shows in Columbus, Pittsburgh and New York City, Moore said.

“[Dilly Dally Fest] has a bunch of new screamo bands and a few older screamo bands, which is crazy,” Moore said. “I had the idea of making a little thing out of it, so we decided to book more shows around it. We have some friends out there that we’ve played with before so it was pretty easy to set stuff up.”

At a Pickpocket show, attendees can expect a welcoming, yet rugged environment, Moore said.

Blevins agreed.

“I feel like we bring a good energy,” Blevins said. “Sometimes the people reflect that, and sometimes they don’t. We still give our 100 percent.”

Pickpocket’s Saturday show at Marlboro Manor will begin at 7 p.m. More information about the band can be found via Instagram.