WESTSIDE COWBOY 'WE WANT PEOPLE TO SLOT INTO - AND NOT DISRUPT - THE COWBOY MAGIC'

The four-piece reflect on the incredible year they've had, explain what their self-invented genre Britainicana means, and how destressing helps them make their best music

- NICK REILLY

When I sit down with Westside Cowboy at a north London pub, they immediately regale me with a story about their trip to the cinema the previous night to watch a 40th-anniversary screening of Back to the Future. “It’s the best film EVER made,” vocalist/guitarist Reuben Haycocks says as he nails his colours to the mast.

It’s undoubtedly a great choice, but one that feels even more on brand when you consider that the Manchester group have spent the past year riding a wave of industry excitement sparked by a self-coined genre called Britainicana. It’s described by the group as a glorious celebration of the mundane, paired against scuzzy guitars which call to mind Pavement and other 90s forebears. Even their name, meanwhile, is taken from cowboys in 19th-century New York who were paid to accompany newly built trains through towns so that naive locals wouldn’t get hit by them.

But it’s testament to their brilliance that the group also draw from folk, alt-rock and even skiffle. It all results in a thrilling sound which saw them win Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition contest in 2025. Below, Westside Cowboy reflect on the past year.

Your latest EP, So Much Country ’Till We Get There, lands on 16 January. Excited to have another taste of the band out there?