Greta Van Fleet

You know the drill: Rock lives, rock dies, rock is gloriously reborn against all odds and stronger than ever. Into this well-worn but surprisingly durable tale step Greta Van Fleet, three teenage brothers (the Kiszkas) and a childhood friend (drummer Daniel Wagner) from woodsy Frankenmuth, Michigan—a place Wagner described to Apple Music as somewhere you “could make as much noise as you wanted and nobody would care at all.” Formed in 2012 and raised on the sounds of Taj Mahal, Big Bill Broonzy, and Led Zeppelin (as well as semi-contemporaries like The Black Keys and Fleet Foxes), the band quickly established themselves as torchbearers for passionate, full-throated, ’70s-style rock—a move that, in the 2010s, is practically countercultural. After releasing two EPs in 2017 (Black Smoke Rising and From the Fires), the band followed in late 2018 with the full-length Anthem of the Peaceful Army, building a rapidly growing fanbase with opening slots for both Foo Fighters and Guns N’ Roses. Describing the state of rock to Beats 1’s Jeremy Degan for Apple Music’s Up Next series, singer Josh Kiszka said, “It turned into a niche thing...you gotta break out of it.” Nodding, his brother Sam added, “It got lost. You need to hit the roots again.”