After a year and a half since their last headline tour, Waterparks returned to North America this past fall for the Prowler Tour in preparation for their highly anticipated sixth studio album. The genre-bending three piece consisting of Awsten Knight (lead vocals, guitar), Geoff Wigington (guitar), and Otto Wood (drums) usher in a bold new chapter defined by sonic risk-taking and emotional clarity. This new era for Waterparks follows an uncertain time for the Texas trio, but now the band is back and better than ever bringing light, love and luck to everything they touch — a stark contrast to the aesthetics of their previous album INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY and its (eventually) canceled counterpart INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY II: LOST IN THE PROPERTY.
Waterparks intended to approach the Prowler Tour differently than any other headliners of theirs thus far, making it a point to focus even more on the fans and what their experience could be. Waterparks curated a unique setlist for the tour, opting for fan picks, multiple deep cuts (that caught many fans off guard), as well as a short acoustic set where Knight would play pieces of different songs each night per the audience’s requests, including live debuts and even songs sworn never to be played live ever again. Knight attributes this change of heart to their long amount of time off the road these past 18 months, as well as the one-off shows they played before and immediately after this time off: Lollapalooza in August of 2024 and a small run of intimate shows in September — two months before the start of the Prowler Tour.
Their Lollapalooza appearance signified the abrupt end to the INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY era as well as a new beginning for the band — a new hair color, a change in mindset, and navigating the band without a label or management team for the first time in years. Many fans traveled across the country to see Waterparks perform at their biggest festival yet, as there were no more shows on the horizon. Then, in 2025, a run of small shows — coined as “secret shows” — were announced in some of the smallest rooms Waterparks has played since 2017. Seeing fans eagerly show up for these shows seemed to have an influence on the band and how they approached the Prowler Tour. Each stop on tour became its own unique experience, especially for fans attending multiple dates.
Waterparks is among one of the many artists of this decade who has welcomed in a new generation of “Deadheads” — a niche group of fans (attributed to the Grateful Dead) who opt to attend multiple nights of the tour in order to experience as much of it as they can. One’s experience at a Waterparks show solely depends on where in the venue they stand: the middle of the pit calls for moshing, crowd-surfing and holding up other crowd-surfers; the sides offer a calmer experience; the very front gives fans a full, unobstructed view of the show. This is what incentivizes many to attend more than one show of the tour.
Waterparks kicked off the Prowler Tour in San Antonio, Texas on Nov. 6. After three nights in The Lone Star State, the tour moved down south to Central Florida and then back up to the East Coast before stopping in New York’s Brooklyn Paramount on Nov. 18. Crave Music had the opportunity to attend the unforgettable show in Brooklyn, watching fans have the time of their lives and the band live in the moment.
WATERPARKS | BROOKLYN PARAMOUNT | BROOKLYN, NY
11/18/2025
Photographed by Haley Petrone
The night in Brooklyn began with a set from New York’s own, Jhariah. With an infectious energy Jhariah got the crowd pumped up for a night to remember. Jhariah was accompanied on stage by his touring band: Eden Quintero on guitar, Bree Moreno on drums, Kirby Bell on bass guitar, and Allan Romero on saxophone. Jhariah began their set with the track “BIGSHOT,” which instantaneously got the crowd up jumping along to its fast-paced beat.
Waterparks always make it a point to choose openers that can be something for their young fans to look up to, more times than not opting for queer representation, people of color (POC) and women on their lineup. Jhariah upholds this as a POC band who is majority queer. In true DIY-fashion, painted on with nail polish, Quintero’s guitar repped the phrases “T4T,” “FUCK ICE” and “TRANS PEOPLE ALWAYS EXIST” — a subtle reminder that the stage is as much a vehicle for protest and identity, carrying solidarity and resistance through every city.
Next on the stage was Chloe Moriondo, who brought an entirely different vibe to the night. Embodying the true definition of a popstar, Moriondo came out every night in a unique outfit, often referencing water themes to go along with her latest album oyster and as a teasing reference to the headlining band’s water-like name. With a soft, breathy voice accompanied by catchy pop beats, Moriondo had everyone dancing.
She began her set with “abyss,” a track off oyster to give the crowd an insight into her most recent project. Moriondo truly steps into the popstar mindset with her next song “Celebrity,” where she sings about fame while running around the stage mimicking posing for cameras. Moriondo showed off her instrumental talents too, playing multiple instruments like bass and both electric and acoustic guitar during her set. Moriondo’s setlist had a good mix of her entire discography, choosing new and old songs she thought the crowd would enjoy. While introducing the song “girls with gills,” Moriondo told the crowd to imagine it as if it’s playing in an underwater club with mermaids, carrying on her mystical water vibe. For her final song, Moriondo took it back with “I Want to Be With You,” the artist’s most well-known song that shares a Heartstopper soundtrack spot with Waterparks’ “Telephone.” The crowd and Moriondo ended their time singing together, enjoying the moment before the headline act walked on stage.
After two incredible opener sets, the crowd was buzzing with excitement as they waited for Waterparks to take the stage. Waterparks fans are nothing if not dedicated; fans had been waiting out in the cold all day, some even arriving as early as midnight to secure a good spot. As the lights dimmed and fans began to scream, a video played displaying clips from the band’s past eras and ending with a title establishing the performance as “The Waterparks Show” before the screen went black and the opening song “Blonde” echoed through the speakers.
The Waterparks Show is not just a concert, but a full-on performance laced with intention. Waterparks place emphasis on this throughout the night, especially with their stage set which included brick walls with working doors and windows, a bench, newspaper stand and surveillance cameras. The walls above the brick were painted red and green, which could be an homage to the INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY eras. Wood’s drum kit was framed by cutouts of a city skyline. The attention to detail on this set made the show that much more immersive to the crowd. Waterparks do not just simply perform around it, but they interact and really incorporate the set into their performance.
Knight and Wigington moved around the stage with a commanding energy. Wigington consistently shredded on guitar throughout the night, and Knight, when not restricted by his guitar, moved with a unique cadence one could only attribute to the singer himself. Wood was placed at the back of the stage, restricted to his drum kit, but his presence and timing does not go unnoticed with each crash of his sticks.
Waterparks divided their set into four – technically five – separate sections; Happiness, Sadness, Anticipation, Anger and an acoustic break. Short videos played before each section, introducing it and its purpose. A man — that we now know is Waterparks’ business manager — appeared on the screen before each section to get fans ready for what’s to come. Right before the first section, he explained to the crowd that they are going to explore the primary emotions that “make human beings tick” throughout the show, the first being happiness.
“Happiness can be found anywhere. Through the people you love, through memories made, and is ultimately what makes life worth living,” the man said in the video.
This first part of the set included some of the more pop-driven Waterparks songs including “Stupid for You” and “Dream Boy.” This section also included the first fan pick of the night, where a camera was pointed to the crowd and Knight picked out one person to choose between fan-favorite tunes “Peach (Lobotomy)” or “Telephone.” In Brooklyn, the fan ultimately chose the latter.
Next after Happiness came Sadness: “The tricky thing about sadness is it can creep up on you when you least expect it, so it’s hard to prepare defence for yourself.”
With this section, Waterparks slowed it down with “High Definition,” where a spotlight was directed towards Knight as he took a seat on a bench to the left side of the stage. During this track, Knight often made direct eye contact with the crowd as they sang the lyrics to one another. Another fan pick takes place during this section, this time Knight picked another attendee to choose between “Gloom Boys” or “Not Warriors,” with the former being the chosen track. The Sadness section featured the inclusion of two fan-favorite deep cuts: “Crybaby,” a track off their sophomore album Entertainment that had not been performed in the U.S. before this tour, and “I Felt Younger When We Met,” the closing track off their third studio album Fandom.
For the acoustic section of the show, Wigington and Wood exit the stage, leaving Awsten alone with his acoustic guitar for the time being, creating a bit of an intimate moment between the lead singer and the crowd. At some of the shows Knight was directed to a b-stage in the middle of the venue. This is the section where Knight would play pieces of songs requested off the phone screens of fans in the crowd. “Rare,” “I’m a Natural Blue” and “Easy to Hate” were the tracks fans convinced Knight to play acoustically on a whim.
Following this was the final audience pick of the night, but instead of choosing one specific person, Knight let the crowd cheer for which song they wanted, and whichever is louder is the one that ends up being played. The choice this time was between the two most iconic acoustic Waterparks songs: “21 Questions” and “Lucky People.” Knight can usually tell by the crowd’s energy which song will get picked, the consistent favorite being “21 Questions” — and Brooklyn was no different.
Wood and Wigington returned to the stage with the next section Anticipation. This section featured the newest Waterparks tracks in anticipation for the new album: “IF LYRICS WERE CONFIDENTIAL,” “RED GUITAR,” “ANY MINUTE NOW” and “Prowler” (unreleased). These new tracks are some of the strongest production-wise and lyrically for the band, and it is apparent as the crowd knows every lyric and jumps at every beat. Knight is handed his own red guitar to play for the track of the same name, and towards the end he holds the guitar high up in the air as fans scream and cheer.
“ANY MINUTE NOW” stands as one of the most lyrically (and sonically) beautiful Waterparks songs. At first listen, many fans expressed their own experiences and how they related to the track. Knight has spoken often about how writing is inherently selfish for him as he writes about his own problems, and is surprised at how many people end up relating to him. The song is a reminder that nobody is alone in their struggle and even the people you look up to go through the same exact thing.
The final section, Anger, begins with a video encouraging crowd surfing and moshing, the most crucial piece of a Waterparks show. Knight has even said it himself: “It’s kinda the whole point.” This section specifically is the place to see crowd surfers crash into each other, simply from the vast amount of them. Anger began with one of the hardest songs in Waterparks discography, “TANTRUM” which had not been played in full since 2018. Before the song even started, a circle pit opened in the crowd, awaiting the beginning of the song. Immediately, the crowd’s energy was up at 110%; mosh pits ensued and crowd surfers were lifted into the air, and it did not stop until the final song.
The Prowler Tour often ended with the track “LIKE IT,” a fan-favorite from their 2021 album Greatest Hits, but the band opted not to perform it in Brooklyn, simply ending the night with “Turbulent” — the only show this occurred at.
The Prowler Tour symbolizes new beginnings for Waterparks as they gear up for their most anticipated album to date. This past year has completely altered how Waterparks approach their live shows, and we can only imagine how it will affect their writing process for their sixth album. Although there’s no official release date yet, we are counting down the days until the album is officially out in the world. Until then, Waterparks is continuing the Prowler Tour in Europe and the UK this spring — if you are in a city they are stopping in, it is crucial you do not miss it.
Get tickets to the UK/EU Prowler Tour: here.
Keep up with Waterparks:
Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram / X / TikTok / YouTube
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