For a band that started out without a plan, Westside Cowboy quickly figured out who they were. The newcomers from Manchester are inspired by folk and rock influences, which they manage to incorporate fantastically into their own work. They rose to fame after winning Glastonbury Festival’s 2025 Emerging Talent Competition.
All members – Reuben Haycocks, James Bradbury, Aoife Anson O’Connell, and Paddy Murphy – studied music at university, so their work shows a lot of technique, but they don’t try to be flashy. Their songs are almost like living beings, blending classic British songwriting (The La’s, Lonnie Donegan, John Lennon) with American alt-rock (Pavement, The Replacements, Pixies). The band half-jokingly calls this style “Britainicana.”
“We want to make music that everyone can enjoy: our parents, grandparents, but also young people. There are no barriers,” the band says about their work. They have one EP to their credit, This Better Be Something Great (2025), and are planning a second one for 2026 called So Much Country ‘Till We Get There.