Waterpistol didn’t begin as a neatly packaged origin story. They formed the way many of the most compelling bands do — out of the remnants of other ideas, other line-ups, other creative projects that had run their course. What was left behind wasn’t failure, exactly, but unfinished business: musicians who’d been moving through different rooms for years, suddenly finding themselves in the same one — and realising the chemistry was too loud to ignore. By April 2023, the band was ready to step into the light for the first time. Their debut show came as support for CVC’s sold-out hometown performance, the kind of high-pressure, high-reward opening chapter that can define a band’s early trajectory.
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From that first show, momentum arrived in waves. Festival season followed in rapid succession, and within their first active year, Waterpistol had already stacked up appearances at some of Wales’ and the UK’s most culturally tuned-in gatherings: FOCUS Wales, Green Man, Sŵn Festival, and In It Together Festival. Waterpistol’s early run suggested a band learning quickly how to hold a room, then hold a field, then hold a name in people’s mouths long after the set ended.
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The debut single, “Living in a Dream,” arrived shimmering and immediate — a first snapshot of identity that didn’t feel tentative. Since its release, the track has climbed to nearly 30,000 streams on Spotify, a meaningful marker for a band still in the early chapters of its rise, and a signal that the story wasn’t staying local.
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Fast forward, and the band’s upward curve has now been met with institutional recognition. Recently awarded the BBC Horizons’ 2026 Launchpad Fund — in partnership with BBC Cymru Wales and the Arts Council Wales — Waterpistol steps into a new phase with fresh momentum. The band now shares the new single “She Flies.”
Following the previously released “Felin,” it lands alongside a live session for BBC Radio Wales with Huw Stephens — another key moment in the band’s timeline, placing them in front of listeners who follow new music not by hype, but by instinct.
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And the live story continues, too: Waterpistol are set to perform at this year’s FOCUS Wales as a spotlight artist for God Is In The TV Zine, bringing the narrative full circle — returning to a festival that helped shape their first year, now with a bigger profile, a stronger catalogue, and a clearer sense of where they’re headed. Waterpistol comprises Harry Watton (Vocals and Percussion), Rhea Padua (Vocals), Aaron Tormey (Guitar and Vocals), Carwyn Whiteman (Guitar and Vocals), Emma Way (Bass), and Efan Watkins (Drums)
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For further information on the band, please visit the following links:
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Photo Credit: Waterpistol Band, courtesy of Beast PR
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