From left, Jesse Lafser, Brittany Howard and Becca Mancari of Bermuda Triangle.

Friend Zone

Sometimes great things happen when you mix a few musicians, a front porch and a little alcohol.

“We all used to sit on each other’s porches and drink and play music,” says musician Jesse Lafser. Lafser is one-third of new Nashville trio Bermuda Triangle.

Alongside Lafser, Bermuda Triangle is Becca Mancari and Brittany Howard. Howard is better known as the big and soulful voice fronting acclaimed Southern blues-rock band Alabama Shakes.

“Wild things would happen when the three of us got together,” Lafser continues. “I remember joking that we were like the Bermuda Triangle.”

The name stuck.

On the strength of just a few mostly acoustic singles, Bermuda Triangle is touring the U.S. It all has the feel of friends playing music together. “We all knew each other in (at least one) past life,” Lafser says.

The song “Suzanne” starts White Album-era Beatles before turning into Bill Withers. Underneath it is a pre-programmed backbeat existing somewhere between bossa nova and Nas.

Howard tells me she appreciates the opportunity to get back to playing smaller clubs. “It’s also nice to alternate who is leading the band,” she says. “We are all very different songwriters, and I really like getting to hang back and just enjoy playing the upright and singing backgrounds.”

Lafser and her songwriting partners hope to keep things loose and natural. “I think that’s an element that naturally is still a part of what we do. We aren’t trying to do anything; it’s just happening the way it’s happening,” she explains, describing a Bermuda Triangle performance as “inviting a crowd into our living room.”

“It’s mostly just a lot of fun to be on stage with your best friends,” Lafser says.

Bermuda Triangle plays with Bells Atlas 8 pm Saturday, Feb. 10, at WOW Hall; $25.