While the 2010s seem only just a few years in the past, the truth is that the beginning of the decade started more than 15 years ago. If you were born in 2010, you’re about to get your learner’s permit. And for those of us who were adults during the decade, it sure was an interesting time to be alive, from politics to pop culture to rock and roll music. With that in mind, let’s explore three rock and roll bands from the 2010s who are sure to have staying power as classic rock acts. The following are a trio of acts who will soon be considered classic rock, once enough time has passed and water has flowed under the bridge.
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The Black Keys
To date, The Black Keys have released a dozen albums with one more, No Rain, No Flowers, set for release later in 2025. It’s a remarkable catalog for the rock duo, which spans back to their debut in 2002, The Big Come Up. But for years, The Black Keys were an underground hit. Your indie friend’s favorite best-kept secret. It wasn’t until the late 2000s or the early 2010s that they started to hit the mainstream. It was the band’s 2010 LP Brothers that propelled them to stardom as the record earned them Grammy Awards and a place in the limelight.
The Arctic Monkeys
The British-born band known as The Arctic Monkeys was and still is one of the biggest rock groups in the world. They could book a world tour today and sell out stadium after stadium. But to which decade do they belong, and does it matter? The group, led by songwriter and performer Alex Turner, released its debut LP Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not in 2006. And a handful of years later, the rock outfit released its fourth record (and first of the 2010s), Suck It And See. Three albums and 11 years later, Turner and company released the band’s most recent LP, The Car, in 2022. But whenever they’re from, they’re fabulous.
Tame Impala
You are probably destined to be considered classic rock when you sound like John Lennon filtered through a dream sequence in the 2010s. And that is certainly the case for the Sydney, Australia-born Kevin Parker. The man behind the musical project known as Tame Impala has a voice that reminds many of Lennon, so much so that some may have thought he was taking obscure Lennon vocal samples for his songs. But it turns out Parker is just a melodic genius. Such is evident on his first four LPs, all of which dropped in the 2010s.
Photo by WireImage/Samir Hussein
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