Weston Estate Talks Open Season, Creative Growth, and What’s Next
With more than 270 million global streams and three sold-out headlining tours, Weston Estate has steadily carved out its own space in the music industry. Now, the genre-blending group is entering an exciting new chapter with its highly anticipated debut album, Open Season, released on September 25.
Known for their distinctive sound, creative chemistry, and authentic connection with fans, Weston Estate continues to push musical boundaries while staying true to the artistry that brought them together. Their latest project marks a defining moment in their journey, reflecting both their evolution as musicians and their willingness to embrace new creative possibilities.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Weston Estate for an exclusive interview, discussing the inspiration behind Open Season, their artistic growth, the importance of community, and what lies ahead as they embark on this next chapter.
The Interview: Weston Estate on Open Season
Zoey Cross: After more than 270 million global streams and three sold-out headline tours, what made this the right moment to release your debut album, Open Season?
Weston Estate: We’ve been making music together for a very long time, and we’ve always wanted to make an album. Everything we’ve put out thus far has been EPs and one-off singles, but we decided late last year that it was about time for us to make our debut album—a full, cohesive body of work. The projects that we’ve released in the past were great representations of who we were at the time we made them, but this new album represents a huge turning point for us, not just in our sound, but in our own individual lives. We’re doing music full time now and living in New York City with new opportunities and people all around us; it only felt right that the music should reflect that change.
Zoey Cross: What does the title Open Season represent, and how does it reflect where you are personally and creatively as a group?
Weston Estate: We were trying to think of a name for the album through the entire process of making it. We ended up going through the names of the songs to see if we could use one as the thesis for the album, and Open Season just felt right—almost a happy accident. We each used to have pretty defined roles in the studio, but this time around, our process became a kind of free-for-all. Each one of us was doing everything, from production to instruments and vocals. It was raw and chaotic in a really cool way, which is definitely reflected in all the songs on the album.
Zoey Cross: How has your sound evolved since Weston Estate first came together, and what can listeners expect from this album that they haven’t heard from you before?
Weston Estate: We wanted to make this album a proper rock album. We’ve been listening to a lot of classic bands like the Strokes, Coldplay, Pink Floyd, and Fontaines D.C. recently, so we really wanted to tap into all of those new influences for this album. It’s super different from our old indie R&B/pop sound for sure, but it still has the Weston Estate soul that people have come to know and love from us. There’s a lot of experimentation with distortion and live instruments on this album that we have never done before. We wanted this album to feel as real and raw as possible.
Zoey Cross: Rather than hosting a traditional album release party, you chose to give five emerging New York City bands the spotlight. What inspired that decision?
Weston Estate: Overall, it was a desire for community. We’ve done our fair share of release parties where we rent out a venue and play a set or just show people the music. It’s something that a lot of artists do, so we really felt like doing something unique and special for this release to mark the turning point of our genre. We had a couple of really cool ideas, but the one we landed on was this Battle of the Bands event where we found five really sick bands from around the city and had the audience vote on their favorite band to open for us at one of our New York shows on our upcoming tour. As a band that just relocated to the city, we wanted to get to know the music scene a bit better and grow our community of influence here. We wanted that night to be a celebration of the new album, but also a celebration of the entire genre of rock music. It was such a cool night that every single attendee and participating band got to be a part of. We’re excited to throw more out-of-the-box events as long as we’re here.
Zoey Cross: Each participating band had just 15 minutes to make an impression. What qualities do you believe make an emerging artist stand out in today’s music industry?
Weston Estate: Crowd engagement and interaction is definitely a huge one; it’s one of the reasons people love to see us live too. Being able to captivate an audience is a skill that not everyone has, but every single one of the bands was able to do that in their 15-minute sets, which was amazing to see. Another huge one is honestly authenticity. It’s hard to stand out and do well in music these days if you’re trying to be someone you’re not. People can always see right through it, and if you stay true to yourself through the process, you’ll almost always come out of it with something cool and unique that nobody else could have made but you.
Zoey Cross: Your audience gets to vote on which band joins you on tour. Why was it important to give fans a direct role in creating opportunities for other artists?
Weston Estate: At the end of the day, we wanted the fans to have a say in who they would be seeing open for us at our show. We love our fans, so we wanted them to feel like they were curating their own experience and interacting with us in a way they never have before. We want to work towards breaking down the fourth wall, and we thought this concept would be a great way to start.
Zoey Cross: You’ve also incorporated fan-created artwork into the release celebration. How does inviting fans into your creative process influence the identity of Weston Estate?
Weston Estate: It’s always cool to see all the different ways that our fans perceive our music. They all have super distinct experiences and feelings that come up when they listen to us, so being able to see our music represented through their own creative pieces was really special to us. We put out a fan call and asked them to submit art pieces that were inspired by our music and the album, and we got back so many sick visuals that we used for the release party and the rest of our rollout. Alongside each of the art submissions, fans also had the option to write us a note. Reading through those and understanding the creativity and dedication that our fans have for their artistic craft, is a reason we love what we do. Art for us goes beyond music, and this concept was a great way to capture that.
Zoey Cross: With streaming and social media playing such significant roles in music discovery, how do you balance building an online audience with creating meaningful connections through live performances?
Weston Estate: Social media is obviously great because it gives artists like us a chance to tap in directly with our existing fans and reach new ones, but it’s so oversaturated now that sometimes it’s hard to play the game and win these days. We want to post and drop enough to stay consistent, but we also want everything we put out to be the best of the best. That includes our live shows. We love going on tour because we get to see how people are reacting to our music at the moment and find out the kinds of things they gravitate towards. Not only that, but we want our new album to be a spectacle—something that people can experience and feel the creative process through. Because live instrumentation was a big part of this album, experiencing it through a streaming platform versus in real life is different and brings another dimension to the music. We also love getting to meet our fans in person. Breaking down that fourth wall is important to us, and conversing with the fans is the best way we can achieve this.
Zoey Cross: As a group, how do you navigate different creative perspectives while maintaining a sound and identity that feels authentic to everyone?
Weston Estate: It’s honestly still something we’re trying to figure out. We’re four people with our own individual tastes, so naturally, we’ll have differing opinions sometimes about elements of our music and creative direction as a whole. At times like that, we just have to sit down and decide who has the better case for their opinion. Compromise will always happen when you’re in a group, but that’s also the most beautiful thing about Weston to us; it’s bigger than any of us individually. Everything that we make together is an amalgamation of all four of our minds coming together to make one piece of art that only we could have made together. When we make something undeniable, we all know it. It’s a kind of rush that you can’t get anywhere else.
Zoey Cross: Having experienced sold-out tours and significant streaming success before releasing your first album, what has been the biggest misconception about your journey as independent artists?
Weston Estate: I think the biggest misconception is that success makes the process faster or easier. If anything, it raised the standard we hold ourselves to. The time between releases isn’t inactivity; we’re constantly writing, experimenting, and deciding what genuinely moves the band forward. Open Season took about a year from its earliest ideas to release, and we were building more than the music: the visual world, videos, rollout, and live experience all had to feel connected. We create far more than people ever hear because we’re intentional about what represents Weston Estate. We’d rather take our time and release something we fully believe in than put music out simply to stay visible.
Zoey Cross: What do you hope emerging musicians take away from your journey, particularly those trying to build careers outside traditional industry expectations?
Weston Estate: We want people to believe that they can do it. Before this, we were all in school planning on having regular lives, but making music together completely changed that trajectory for all of us. We were always true to who we were. That came through in the music, and people resonated with it in an amazing way. It’s a scary leap to take, but it will be the best thing you ever do. You will learn incredible things about yourself that you would never have discovered otherwise. Don’t follow the herd; do what makes you feel creatively fulfilled, and you will find people who think the same.
Zoey Cross: Looking beyond Open Season, what kind of cultural and musical legacy do you want Weston Estate to create, and what would you like the next chapter to look like?
Weston Estate: We want Weston Estate to be a household name, a cultural powerhouse. We want to make timeless music—songs that are so classic and ubiquitous that they’re felt by people all over the world for generations to come. We want to inspire kids like us, especially immigrant kids who feel like they only have a few options with what they can do with their lives.
We want them to look at us and know that anything is possible, that their dreams are something they can manifest into reality. If we can inspire even one person that way, we’ll have done our job. Regarding the next chapter, we have no idea what kind of music we’re going to make next, but we’re going to let that journey unfold on its own, and whatever comes out of it will be amazing.
A New Chapter for Weston Estate
For Weston Estate, Open Season represents more than the release of a debut album. It signals a shift in artistic direction, a deeper commitment to creative freedom, and a growing desire to build meaningful connections within the music community.
Their transition toward a more rock-driven sound, combined with their collaborative approach and willingness to spotlight emerging talent, reflects a group determined to evolve without losing its identity.
As Weston Estate continues to navigate its next chapter, one thing remains clear: their ambitions extend far beyond streaming numbers and sold-out venues. With a vision rooted in authenticity, community, and lasting cultural influence, the band is building something intended to resonate well beyond the present moment.