Potential/Future Headliners

[BTK1609]

This thread highlights the absolute capitulation of Indie/Rock music in recent years. All the upcoming bands are pretty bland and will never have the hype around them akin to the likes of Foo Fighters etc. I think it's reasonable to attribute this to the declining of Leeds lineup over the past few years. IIRC the lineup of 2002 and 2005 were pretty amazing and even ones between that were solid; but this came at the time where indie/rock was flavour of the month. The rise of dubstep and over produced pop is going to see Leeds decline in terms of band quality and of course, the actual demographics of the crowd. Festivals are reaching unsustainable levels of saturation with more 'major' festivals now than ever, and with prices increasing (and the price not always reflecting the quality of bands on offer, see 2010) and for these reasons they're becoming less popular as the boom they experienced a few years ago. Things are going to get progressively worse over all fronts until some reasonably large festivals start to go pop, ie. latitude and bestival.

I think Arctic Monkeys are probably the last of the big indie/rock bands for quite a while.

Edited March 18, 2012 by BTK1609

[Andre91]

This thread highlights the absolute capitulation of Indie/Rock music in recent years. All the upcoming bands are pretty bland and will never have the hype around them akin to the likes of Foo Fighters etc. I think it's reasonable to attribute this to the declining of Leeds lineup over the past few years. IIRC the lineup of 2002 and 2005 were pretty amazing and even ones between that were solid; but this came at the time where indie/rock was flavour of the month. The rise of dubstep and over produced pop is going to see Leeds decline in terms of band quality and of course, the actual demographics of the crowd. Festivals are reaching unsustainable levels of saturation with more 'major' festivals now than ever, and with prices increasing (and the price not always reflecting the quality of bands on offer, see 2010) and for these reasons they're becoming less popular as the boom they experienced a few years ago. Things are going to get progressively worse over all fronts until some reasonably large festivals start to go pop, ie. latitude and bestival.

I think Arctic Monkeys are probably the last of the big indie/rock bands for quite a while.

[AcademicPistol]

I second this.

[muffinman]

It is 12 and 13 years old listening to one direction.I swear they account for 95% of their sales The older people get the less they listen to stuff like that. I just think it is this generation being spoon-fed music through the radio and not going around looking for great bands. You go on a night out and all you here is Jessie J being pumped through the speakers. It's not that 'guitar music' is dead, just that noone will let it show its still alive somewhere.

[Luke Routledge]

One band I would love to see headline is rise against. Awesome band and they have been working their way up the lineup in recent years. Also have a massive fan base and the last few albums have been getting a lot of attention. Another band I would like to see jump up the lineup is Twin Atlantic.

[pink_triangle]

I think headlining the tent is the best rise against could hope for, can't see them getting a huge surge in popularity

[ReynholmIndustries]

Excuse my ignorance but what genre would you call him then?

[Benj]

But while Metallica appeal to a smaller 'demographic' than Bloc Party, they are still the bigger band, thus making your V Fest argument seem weak. The original argument was that Biffy are, at this time, bigger than Bloc Party, and i really don't see any evidence in your posts to suggest this is not the case

[Calzum]

Excuse my ignorance but what genre would you call him then?

[kev1664]

Excellent post! I haven't got an issue with dubstep personally as it's nothing more than a fad that I can't see being as prevelant in 5 years as it is now. Plus I don't really think its aimed at my age group! Likewise manufactured pop will always be about and I just choose to avoid it. The thing I find most disappointing is the state of Indie/Rock in this country. Lots of the bands people are predicting as future headliners have been round for over a decade already and it really brings up the question of who will follow them. I like quite a few of the newer bands on this years line up but they are devoid of personalities and like them or loath them people like The Gallaghers, Jarvis and Damon make kids want to grow up and be Rock stars. Rock/Indie music simply isn't in people's conscious anymore and until this changes I can't see the line up's getting any more interesting as the pool of bands to choose from will just keep decreasing.

[AcademicPistol]

Shit..

[BTK1609]

Thing is though, there are loads of great bands out and about. I regularly go to local gigs whilst following one of my mates bands round the circuit, and there's lots of good stuff out there. Just the music industry don't want to push these types of bands.

The music industry much prefer to have puppets who they can write music and songs for, for them to sing, so that all the royalties etc go back into their own pockets. The types of music that will sell in droves and what the mainstream laps up. These type of acts can then be binned when that type of music runs its course and something else hits the mainstream.

They don't want to push bands who have a bit of talent as it takes time for them to develop fan bases and work their way up to selling lots of albums and tickets. The industry want instant hits and instant profits.

[Benj]

The fact is that Rock and Indie simply aren't 'cool' with the kids of today and for that to change it just needs one band to really capture the wider publics imagination and in turn that could see a host of other bands focused into the public eye.

[sambrook]

Melvin has said that The Vaccines and Bombay Bicycle Club are future headliners. Hardly surprising.

[Yellow_Fellow]

And Pulled Apart By Horses

[Whittick]

Pendulum, The xx, TDCC, the Decemberists, the National, LCD Soundsystem, Grizzly Bear,

[kaosmark2]

Isn't the Pendulum fad starting to die?

No way for Grizzly Bear.

I doubt LCD will reform. I'm sure James Murphy will write more music and tour again, but I'm not sure he'll do it as LCD and doing LCD songs.

And while there's more chance than Grizzly Bear, I doubt The Decemberists or The National will ever get that sort of push.

[Babyquack]

Isn't the Pendulum fad starting to die?

No way for Grizzly Bear.

I doubt LCD will reform. I'm sure James Murphy will write more music and tour again, but I'm not sure he'll do it as LCD and doing LCD songs.

And while there's more chance than Grizzly Bear, I doubt The Decemberists or The National will ever get that sort of push.

[kaosmark2]

The Pendulum fad is only dying because they're taking some time out - it'll be back again next year when the band are back after their 'break'.

[mrtourette]

Pulled Apart By Horses/The Vaccines/The Joy Formidable might be a decent trio in a few years time.

[Yellow_Fellow]

By their 3rd album, Periphery will be headlining at the very least, one of the UK Metal fests and or Reading.

[Banana Co]

I doubt The Decemberists or The National will ever get that sort of push.

[kaosmark2]

I think that The National could definitely be able to headline maybe after a couple more successful albums. I hate to say it as a comparison as everyone uses it but Arcade Fire headlined.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

They're not that similar in style, and Arcade Fire got love from the NME from the off, The National have built up a fanbase steadily, and it's still pretty small. They're curating ATP! Noone who's getting picked up by our media plays ATP!

[RichieParf]

The National got nominated for a Brit Award last year.