Wet Leg: who are Grammys 2023 award winners Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, meaning - and tour dates

The band’s rise to fame has been unlike any other in recent years
Wet Leg pose with the awards for Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Music Album (Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)Wet Leg pose with the awards for Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Music Album (Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Wet Leg pose with the awards for Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Music Album (Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

In what may well be the shortest time between musical project conception and major award win, rising stars Wet Leg have won their first Grammy honours - less than two years after playing their very first live show.

The Isle of Wight-based duo, composed of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, took home two awards on Sunday (5 February) during one of the biggest evenings of the music industry’s calendar in Los Angeles. The pair won awards for best alternative music performance and best alternative music album.

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“This is so funny, thank you so much. What are we doing here? I don’t know. But here we are,” said Teasdale, accepting the first award.

Here is everything you need to know about them.

Who are Wet Leg?

Long-time friends Teasdale and Chambers formed the band in 2019 and signed with Domino Recording Company, which represents artists including Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and Hot Chip. Their debut single ‘Chaise Longue’ was released in June 2021, racked up millions of streams, with their second - ‘Wet Dream’ - enjoying similar success after release in September the same year.

Wet Leg were included on the BBC’s Sound Of 2022 list, but lost out to Bath-based singer-songwriter Pink Pantheress, while April saw the highly-anticipated release of their self-titled album, which was met with critical acclaim.

They went on to wow crowds with a performance on the Park Stage at Glastonbury festival last year, which resulted in roads near the venue being closed due to overcrowding.

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In July 2022 their track ‘Angelica’ was included on former president Barack Obama’s summer playlist alongside tunes by fellow Grammy-winners Beyonce and Harry Styles (shortly before the 2023 Grammys they supported Styles on his world tour). The same day their album was announced as part of the 12-strong shortlist for the coveted Mercury Prize.

Responding to the nomination, they said: “When we started the band, we never really thought we’d get the opportunity to make any recordings at all, let alone a whole album… It’s been just over a year since our first gig and we are all still in shock at where this journey has taken us.”

When are they next on tour?

Wet Leg are about to embark on a short headline tour of Japan, before resuming support band duties as part of Harry Styles Love On Tour in Australia and New Zealand. They will next be playing live in the UK at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 22 March, as part of Teenage Cancer Trust’s series of gigs.

The band then hook back up with Styles to travel to Mexico, before appearing on the bill of Coachella’s dual weekend festival in mid-April. Styles’ tour brings them back to Europe in May, making stops in Denmark and Germany, before it’s back to the UK for shows at Coventry’s Building Society Arena (22 and 23 May), and the BT Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh (26 and 27 May).

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What follows is a busy summer split between Harry Styles tour dates and festivals, including supporting Pulp in London’s Finsbury Park on 1 July, and slots on the line-up of Reading and Leeds Festivals.

For more information on Wet Leg tour dates, head to the band’s website.

What does the band’s name mean?

According to a December 2021 interview, the band arrived at the name ‘Wet Leg’ through a game they had devised in which they had to choose various emoji combinations; when they arrived at Wet Leg, it stuck.

In a separate interview conducted a few months later, the duo said the name actually came from Isle of Wight slang used to refer to visitors to the island. According to the band, those who have travelled across the Solent to visit the island are said to have a ‘wet leg’ from getting off the boat.

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