The ‘Big 4’ Bands of Gen Z Dad Rock

Here’s a scary question — who are the “Big 4” bands of Gen Z dad rock?It feels like yesterday that the phrase “dad rock” was a blanket term to describe some of the most well-known classic rock bands that you’d typically find dads listening to. But a lot of us are a lot older than we’d like to admit now and today’s youngsters consider some surprising bands to fall under that umbrella.And to be fair, a lot of us are parents now. So we’re the dads.Last year we covered a study of the most popular dad rock bands in each state, based on a survey of 3,000 Americans. At first, we were shocked to see groups such as Nickelback, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and Blink-182 listed….And then the lightbulb went off — every generation has their own cluster of dad rock bands.Thus, we’ve named the “Big 4” of the most recent generations. The parameters are quite simple — the “Big 4” for each generation has to consist of bands that were popular when said generation were teenagers. Some of the bands may have peaked at different times, but a lot of the generations have wide age gaps as well, crossing decades and era trends.We hadn’t picked a “Big 4” to represent Gen Z dad rock yet, because it grays our hairs to think that some bands who only started 20 years go are considered dad rock now. But, we finally decided to grab the bull by the horns and take the task head-on.READ MORE: The ‘Big 4’ Bands of Boomer, Gen X + Millennial Dad RockAccording to the Pew Research Center, members of the Gen Z generation were born between 1997 and 2012. Thus, the first of the Gen Z’s became teenagers in 2010, and the youngest only become teenagers this year — in 2025.Scroll below to see the four bands we chose to represent dad rock of the Gen Z generation.The ‘Big 4’ Bands of Gen Z Dad RockThe following bands are who we consider the ‘Big 4’ of Gen Z dad rock, as they were popular with teens between the years 2010 and 2025.Gallery Credit: Lauryn SchaffnerThe ‘Big 4’ Bands of Millennial Dad RockEvery generation has their own version of dad rock. Here, we look at the ‘Big 4’ of millennial dad rock.Millennials are those born between 1981 and 1996, so that’s a lot of musical ground to cover from their teen years!Gallery Credit: Joe DiVitaThe ‘Big 4’ Bands of Gen X Dad RockIf there were four bands to represent the Dad Rock of Generation X, it would be these.Gallery Credit: Lauryn SchaffnerThe ‘Big 4’ of Boomer Dad Rock BandsFor kids of the ’60s and early ’70s, these bands led them through their teen years and stand the test of time as true icons!Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, LoudwireThe ‘Big 4’ of 10 Rock + Punk SubgenresGallery Credit: by Jordan BlumThe ‘Big 4’ of 17 Metal SubgenresEveryone knows the ‘Big 4’ of thrash metal, but what about some other styles of metal?Gallery Credit: Jordan Blum