WATERPARKS USHERS IN NEW ERA WITH ‘RED GUITAR’ AND A SURPRISE TOUR
If you could show your younger self a crystal ball of the life you live now, would you do it?
This is the question racing around Waterparks’ new electric single “RED GUITAR,” released on July 18. The song, just under 2-and-a-half minutes long, emotionally and uniquely addresses the childlike “delusion” of striving to be a world-famous rockstar, only to be hit with the “ruthless” reality of it all — something that started with a 13-year-old’s purchase of a red guitar.
Photo: Ashley Osborn / Waterparks
Graphic by Haley Petrone / @haleypetronephoto
Consisting of vocalist Awsten Knight, drummer (and, jokingly, serial killer) Otto Wood, and guitarist Geoff Wigington, the Houston-trio have been releasing music for well over a decade, maneuvering their way through various sounds to continue breaking away from the typical box and morphing into a staple, genre-fluid band.
In an unexpected July 21 post, Waterparks announced they will be hitting the road this November on the highly anticipated THE PROWLER TOUR, with 27 dates across the United States. Waterparks will be joined by opening bands Heart Attack Man, I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, Plain White T’s, Chloe Moriondo and more.
The release of “RED GUITAR” is the first standalone single of the year for Waterparks; their two other songs of 2025 being vocal features on tracks by Sorry My Love and 5 Seconds Of Summer’s Michael Clifford. Waterparks’ most recent album Intellectual Property dropped in 2023, so fans of the band are ready to usher in a brand new wave of music, one that Knight is dubbing the band’s “BEST ERA” ever.
“RED GUITAR” is so unapologetically Waterparks, but in the best — and the freshest — way possible. Layering deep, introspective lyrics over top of a hyperactive instrumental is where the track thrives. “RED GUITAR” feels almost haunting, both in its production and through the words Knight is singing. Single plucks of a guitar greet listeners upon pressing play before quickly ushering in the all-encompassing booming vocals, spooky synths and heavy guitar that sets the mood for the song.
The first verse catches attention with a blunt introduction from Knight: “What’s up? I’m Awsten and I’m fucking exhausted.” Waterparks has never been afraid to put out songs about a musician’s experience or criticizing online fan spaces (see: Fandom, 2019), and the opening verse of “RED GUITAR” showcases a candid cry for help from someone with seemingly unfulfilled dreams and a conflicted lack of drive to keep working.
“The meter is running, can't imagine what it's costing / To keep up these superhuman levels of delusion / That all eyes are on me, they tune in like Truman,” Knight sings in the verse, comparing his life to that of the 1998 film The Truman Show where Jim Carey’s titular character is being unknowingly watched by the world for entertainment purposes. Knight doesn’t believe he is Truman himself, per se, but instead is verbalizing how much hard work and pressure goes into the career he’s thrust himself into, when there may not even be that many people watching. Feeling like Truman is a “delusion” Knight tricked himself into believing so he continues making music.
Knight questions why he continues to “do this” anymore, furthering themes of the exhausted, sacrificial nature of his life today due to the ruthless music industry, but remembers that he does this to feed the dream of his teenage self, a dream of writing hit songs and getting featured on covers of magazines.
This isn’t the first time Knight has written about this same idea, with the officially-released 2024 demo track “TALKING TO MYSELF - DEMO” exploring what it's like to return to home and be in his childhood bedroom, the same place those dreams, or “delusions,” were formed and initially chased.
After all of Knight’s worry in the “RED GUITAR” verses about if any of the turmoil was worth it, he sings in the pre-chorus that “none of y'all could ever, ever hurt me.” He puts those walls back up again, feeding the delusions he mercilessly criticizes seconds prior; no one can hurt him because he has irrefutable dreams to chase and achieve, which leads us straight into the chorus.
“I just bought a brand-new red guitar / With six gold strings and a whammy bar / If I play it real good, it'll take me far / Mama said, mama said I'm a superstar,” Knight sings.
The chorus is electrifying and dynamic, bursting with that confident energy only a child could harness. The act of buying a guitar as an aspiring teenage songwriter is an unstoppable force, as it seemingly opens up the door to a true rockstar career, especially when parents say (in true parent fashion) that you can be anything you put your mind to — in this case, a “superstar” — even if it's just white lies to make their child happy and shield them a little longer from the harsh reality.
In the days leading up to the release of “RED GUITAR,” Knight shared a photo he posted months prior of him as a teenager playing a red guitar — the muse of the track. He also revealed how he subtly teased this song during Waterparks’ set at Lollapalooza last summer, showing that this song has been in the making for a while.
The second verse features moments where Knight speaks directly to his younger self in that photo in a back-and-forth conversation where a young, hopeful, full-of-light Knight is asking how the future is and ”Are we famous?” The fresh-eyed teenage Knight is clearly expecting exciting, life-changing news, something to know his hard work is paying off, but a drained, present-day Knight replies with a dry and dull “no.”
“Well, your life is a circus that makes you feel worthless / The ones you love most are the ones who get hurt, it’s so—” Knight sings to his teenage counterpart before being interrupted, beginning a rant about the reality of being in the public eye. The constant cycle of celebrity privacy invasion while also using their earned platform to entertain fans offers a strange dichotomy of life; a social commentary on how people feel owed more than they actually are since they enjoy a band’s songs. Feeling like a circus, as Knight expresses, is an interesting metaphor that deeply explores the mental toll a career like his can take on someone. While there are obvious positives with sharing your art to excited fans, the constant give-and-take between the ringmaster life of an artist and a faceless crowd of fans can make one feel without personal value; only used for the show.
A heartfelt exchange between the two Knights is shared immediately following this quick rant, with the younger version asking if dedicating his whole life to this was even worth it.
“It’s our purpose,” Knight says definitively, sending chills down listeners’ spines.
This phrase quickly became a trend on social media, with fans and Knight alike posting photos of younger photos of either themselves or the band side-by-side with their future counterpart, offering a heartfelt take on the deep lyrics.
“RED GUITAR” then naturally slides into an impressive, clean guitar solo that Knight revealed on a livestream that he shred in just one take. This guitar moment is easily one of the more impressive moments of the song, making anyone stop to sing Waterparks’ praises.
Knight may write about the downfalls of the music industry on occasion, but he has shared his sincere sentiments online about the fan reaction to the song and how this is his favorite Waterparks era yet.
“i always feel so run down and anxious after release days but i gotta say thank you for making it a good one,” Knight shared on his Instagram Story the day of the song’s release. “I love this song and i love waterparks and i’m happy a lot of y’all do too - thank you.”
“RED GUITAR” is a huge jump forward in Waterparks’ career, showing their clear improvement in every aspect of music. Although an already impressive band with a killer discography, the release of “RED GUITAR” is just different, showing, once again, the band’s ability to grow and change — sometimes against the current — to create something they truly love to a dedicated fanbase who loves it back just as strongly.
On release day, Knight spent his time on various social media platforms interacting with fans and reading reactions to the new song — something you don’t see many artists do as genuinely anymore. Spending hours on livestreams and hosting listening parties himself, Knight managed to talk to numerous fans and share his undeniable gratitude toward them, showing the other side of that ruthless music industry: one full of endless love and support.
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SOURCE: Waterparks via Facebook
