Waterparks is an Americanpop rock band formed inHouston, Texas in 2011. The group currently consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight, backing vocalist and lead guitarist Geoff Wigington, and backing vocalist and drummer Otto Wood.
The band has released three EPs, two of which were released independently while the third was released viaEqual Vision. The band released their debut studio album,Double Dare, on November 4, 2016, via Equal Vision, then later their second studio albumEntertainment under the same label on January 26, 2018. On May 23, 2019, the band announced that they had left Equal Vision and signed on withHopeless. Their third studio album, entitledFandom, was released on October 11, 2019. The band then signed with300 Entertainment and their fourth studio album,Greatest Hits, was released on May 21, 2021. The band signed withFueled by Ramen in 2022, and their fifth studio album,Intellectual Property, was released in April 2023.
The band was formed in 2011 by Awsten Knight and Gage Matthieu, who met while playing in different bands including The Blue Poptarts.[1][2][3][4] The band was later joined by drummer Owen Marvin, guitarist Tommy Denley, and briefly, keyboardist Tyler Comer.[4][5][6][7] This lineup soon dissipated before the band's first release. Their first EP,Airplane Conversations, was released independently on April 3, 2012,[8] and was the only release with Matthieu and Marvin before they both left the band in 2012.[4] Guitarist Geoff Wigington and drummer Otto Wood joined the band that same year following the prior departures. The band's first show was on August 17, 2012 atWarehouse Live in Houston[9] alongsideInvent, Animate, DWHB, and Life as Lions.[10] The band continued performing at local venues throughout Texas over the following years.[2] The band performed as a supporting act for pop musicianAaron Carter, opening his Houstontour date on May 11, 2013.[2][11] Their second EP,Black Light, was released on June 5, 2014.[12] The band also performed on the Houston dates of theWarped Tour in 2013[13][14] and 2015.[15]
The group released a single titled "Stupid For You" on August 31, 2016 in promotion of its debut album,Double Dare.[27] They later released two additional singles, "Hawaii (Stay Awake)", and "Royal", before the album's release on November 4, 2016.[28][29][30][31] In 2016, the band performed a cover ofHitchin' a Ride byGreen Day and was featured on a 30th anniversary covers album for Green Day titled,Green Day: American Superhits!.[32] "Gloom Boys" was made into the album's fourth and final single in 2017.[33]
In March 2017, the group joined fellow bandsSWMRS andThe Wrecks as supporting acts onAll Time Low's tour of theUnited Kingdom andIreland.[34] Later, during the Summer of 2017, the groups reunited for All Time Low's Young Renegades Tour, this time touring the United States.[35]Night Riots performed in place of SWMRS on the tour's Dallas and Houston dates.[36]
On October 20, 2017, the band announced their second studio album,Entertainment, with a release date of January 26, 2018.[37][38] AlongsideEntertainment's announcement, the band released the album's first single, "Blonde".[38] On December 13, 2017, the band released the second single from the album, titled "Lucky People".[39] On January 17, 2018, Waterparks released the third and final single fromEntertainment, titled "Not Warriors".[40][41] The album was released on January 26, 2018 via Equal Vision.[38][42][43][44]Entertainment peaked at No. 98 on theBillboard 200 chart on February 10, 2018.[45]
Lead vocalist, Awsten Knight performing with Waterparks in 2018
In 2019, the band performed a cover of "Beating Heart Baby" byHead Automatica and was featured onRock Sound's covers albumWorship And Tributes: Volume II.[46] On May 23, 2019, the band released "Turbulent", their first single off of their at the time, third album. Along with the album's title it was also announced that the band had signed toHopeless Records.[47][48] On August 12, 2019, the band released the second single, "Watch What Happens Next", along with a music video and the announcement of the album to be released on October 11, 2019.[49][50] On August 16, 2019, the band released their third single, "Dream Boy", along with a music video.[51][52] On September 12, 2019, the fourth single, "[Reboot]" was released.[53][54] On September 25, 2019, they released their fifth single for the album, "High Definition", along with a music video.[55] The band's third studio albumFandom was released on October 11, 2019.[56][57][58] On October 17, 2019, "Easy to Hate" was released as the sixth single, along with a music video.[59][60]
On January 22, 2020, frontman Awsten Knight posted onTwitter that if a certain tweet was retweeted 20,000 times, that he would release a new Waterparks album that day.[61] This goal was achieved within hours, subsequently forcing Knight to release aSoundCloud collection titled1 (A Collection of Unreleased Home Demos, This is Not G, or Even an Album, Shut Up Enjoy), a demo album that consists of unreleased Waterparks demos, including songs Knight has teased on his Instagram some of which were "Lemonade", "Noise", and "Glitter Times".[61] He states in the song "Life Is Puke (20,000)" that he never thought the tweet would actually make it to that many retweets and that "everyone is so mad at me."[61]
When the band performed at theO2 Academy in Birmingham, England during theFandom tour on January 27, 2020, they announced that the performance would be taped and released as a live album, with a companion concert film, that summer.[62] TheCOVID-19 pandemic delayed the release until the fall, andFandom: Live in the UK was officially released on November 27, 2020, formally marking the end of theFandom era.[63]
On September 24, 2020, the band officially released a song entitled "Lowkey As Hell".[64][65] This comes after Knight leaked the song the previous week on a live stream whilst cutting off hisFandom-era green hair himself.[65][66] Following the song's official release, record label300 Entertainment announced that they had signed the band.[64][65]
On February 25, 2021, the band announced their fourth studio albumGreatest Hits, along with the release of a new single titled "Snow Globe".[67][68] The album was released on May 21, 2021.[67][68] The next single, titled "Numb" was released on March 29, 2021,[69][70] but was debuted on March 27 during the Anti Tour Performance.[69] The fourth single, "You'd Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out To Get You)", was released on April 28, 2021, sharing its title with anautobiography written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight.[71] The fifth single, "Just Kidding", was released on May 12, 2021.[72] The sixth single, "Violet!", was released on May 19, 2021.[73] A music video was released for the song on May 26, 2021.[74][75]
2022–present:Intellectual Property and standalone singles
On January 27, 2022, the band posted teasers for their upcoming fifth studio album.[76] On April 7, 2022, the first single, "Funeral Grey" was announced,[76] and was then subsequently released on May 13 as their first release underFueled by Ramen.[77] In 2022, the band's song "Telephone," from their 2019 albumFandom, was featured in episode three of the British TV seriesHeartstopper.[78][79] On July 5, 2022, the band announced the second single, "Self-Sabotage" to be released on July 7.[80] The band also released a teaser of a new song titled "Brainwashed" that the band had been performing on tour.[80] On August 8, 2022, the band released a music video for "Self-Sabotage".[81] On August 30, 2022, the band debuted a new song live titled "Real Super Dark" from the upcoming album.[82] On October 14, 2022, the band released the single "Fuck About It", featuringBlackbear.[83] On November 23, 2022, the band announced the title of their fifth studio album,Intellectual Property.[84][85] On December 1, 2022, the band released a music video for "Fuck About It".[86][87] On January 26, 2023, the band released the album's fourth single, "Real Super Dark".[88] The band also confirmed the release date for the album to be April 14, 2023.[88] On March 10, 2023, the band released the album's fifth single, "Brainwashed".[89]
On October 11, 2023, the band released the single "Sneaking Out of Heaven", treated as part ofIntellectual Property on streaming services.[90] An accompanying music video was released on October 12, 2023.[91]
On May 26, 2024, the band released the single, "Soulsucker", from their upcoming sixth studio album,Intellectual Property 2: Lost in the Property[92] which will be released independently. A music video for the song was released two days later.[93] On June 28, 2024, the band released "FAI2", featuring Zeph, a re-imagined version of Fuck About It (2023).[94]
On August 2, 2024, the band released a statement on their Instagram saying the album had been canceled.[95] On August 4, 2024, the band released one more single from the album, titled "Guilt (Interlude)".[96] On August 16, 2024, the band released "GH2024", a medley of songs from their 2021 album,Greatest Hits.[97]
On October 15, 2024, the band released a second demo collection titled2 (A Collection of Unreleased Home Demos, This is Not J, or Even an Album, Shut Up Enjoy), consisting of the tracks "Call Me Beep Me - Demo" and "Talking to Myself - Demo."[98] The band was featured onMichael Clifford's single, "Give Me A Break!", which was released on May 23, 2025.[99][100]
On July 3, 2025, the band announced that they had signed a record deal withBMG.[101] Along with the renouncement, the band started teasing new music.[101] On July 11, it was announced that the single, "Red Guitar", would be released on July 18.[102] The song's official music video was released on July 31, directed by Awsten Knight himself.[103] On September 19, 2025, the band released the single, "If Lyrics Were Confidential", alongside a music video.[104] On November 14, 2025, the band released the single, "Any Minute Now".[105]
