How many times have you been watching a movie or a TV show that featured a fictional band thinking, “I’d love to go to that show!” We have as well. for example, imagine a music festival with nothing but the best fictional bands from TV and movies. It would be epic.
There are a few examples of bands you won’t find on this list. Bands like The Blues Brothers, the Monkees, and Spinal Tap may have started as fictional, but both evolved into something much more than the movies they came from. That said, here’s our list of the other fictional bands we’d love to see in the festival of our dreams!
Wyld Stallyns
You can’t have any list like this and not include the band that saved the world! Ted “Theodore” Logan and Bill S. Preston, Esq, make up Wyld Stallyns (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, respectively) in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and before they save the world, they need to graduate from high school and learn about some history with a little time traveling. With some help from their biggest fan from the future, Rufus, of course. A headliner in every sense of the word.
Stillwater
In Almost Famous, a movie filled with great music, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) described Stillwater as a “mid-level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom.” That’s a little unfair, but the real Lester Bangs was a bit of a snob. A little classic rock is always a good time, and we’re all grateful they didn’t suffer the same fate as Lynyrd Skynyrd on that airplane. It’s a little hard to believe a band like that would be singing Elton John together on a bus though.
The Wonders
For the baby boomers out there, the fictional band on this list that will remind them most of their teenage years is definitely The Wonders (originally The Oneders) from That Thing You Do! The Wonders are early rock ‘n roll at its finest. Not as artistic as the rock from the late ‘60s, but music filled with catchy hooks and rhythms you can dance to. Plus all the members are just dreamy.
CB4
It’s not just rock n roll we’d want to see. How about a little West Coast Gangsta Rap with the mighty CB4? They are straight out of LoCash, and they aren’t messing around. From the mockumentary of the same name, featuring a young Chris Rock as Albert Brown aka Gusto, CB4 isn’t for the faint of heart, they bring it hard.
Daisy Jones And The Six
Daisy Jones and The Six, from the show of the same name, based on a book of the same name, are bonafide rock superstars. With lead singers Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin), the band helped define the sound of the late ‘70s in the show. Plus, any band with Elvis Presley’s granddaughter (Keough) singing lead is worth seeing in concert.
Barry Jive and the Uptown Five
Barry (Jack Black) is a huge music snob. He and his fellow record store employees love to debate who has the best albums and songs. When a guy like that starts a band, you have to go. The band’s first name was Sonic Death Monkey and was almost called Kathleen Turner Overdrive, but Barry wisely changed it at the last minute to Barry Jive and the Uptown Five when they performed one heck of a version of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” in High Fidelity.
Mouse Rat
Andy Dwyer (Chris Pratt) in Parks & Recreation went through a lot of changes. We mean, a lot. The band cycled through dozens of band names, including Department of Homeland Obscurity, Harriet Tubthumping, and Mouth Smash. Finally settling on Mouse Rat, they still struggled to find an audience, but sometimes the best bands are the ones that no one has discovered yet and take years to release their debut album.
Drive Shaft
Drive Shaft, from Lost, made the big time with their hit single “You All Everybody” in the late ‘90s. Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan) led the band, along with his brother Liam. The band fell on hard times, as one-hit wonders often do, and Charlie’s personal problems made things worse. We might only know one song, but that song is enough to explore more, right?
Ashley O
You wouldn’t expect a pop act to emerge from the depths of Black Mirror but Ashley O isn’t just any act. She’s a star with an edge, writing one of her best songs, “On a Roll,” with a huge assist from Nine Inch Nails. Miley Cyrus plays Ashley O in the show, and she’s been known to perform “On A Roll” in concert, so it’s possible to get a taste of what an Ashley O show might be like.
Soggy Bottom Boys
At the Bonnaroo Music Festival, Sunday morning has often been dedicated in some tents to more traditional Americana. The Soggy Bottom Boys from O Brother Where Art Thou (a movie with one of the best soundtracks ever) would fit right in there and they would be amazing. Led by Ulysses McGill (George Clooney), their hit song, “Man of Constant Sorrow”, would bring down the house!
Otis Day & The Knights
Wait ‘til Otis sees us! Otis Day and his band, the Knights, were big on the fraternity circuit in the early ‘60s, playing a legendary concert at the Delta House in Animal House. It’s when they are playing clubs, however, that they really shine, so let’s grab a date and go dancing!
Zack Attack
We’re not going to question how Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselar) knew how to play guitar all of a sudden, or how Lisa Tuttle (Lark Voorhies) could play bass after never mentioning it before on Saved By The Bell. We’re just going to sit back and enjoy Zack Attack’s concert. They are friends forever, so how bad could it be?
Krazee-Eyez Killa
Krazee Eyez Killa (Chris Williams) gets some great advice from the most likely person–Larry David on Curb your Enthusiasm. While we don’t know a whole lot about his music, but what Krazee promises about his on-stage persona, sounds like something that would be amazing to see in concert. Probably at an open mic, if we had to guess.
The New Main Street Singers
The New Main Street Singers from A Mighty Wind are just old-fashioned family-friendly folk music. Though the members may have a questionable past (we’re not asking), the music is so wholesome, that you can’t help but smile.
School Of Rock
Any band led by Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is going to rock, even one made up of 4th graders, like the band School Of Rock in the movie of the same name. Sure, they didn’t win the Battle of the Bands in the movie, but they gained a lot of fans, including us.
More of a club act than an arena band, Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes from Star Wars is the kind of band that lets you enjoy your drink a little more when you’re stuck in a dive bar in a wretched hive of scum and villainy like Mos Eisley. Just don’t look at anyone the wrong way.
The Be Sharps
At one point, The Be Sharps were bigger than The Beatles. At least in the world of The Simpsons. There aren’t a lot of barbershop quartets around anymore. In fact there weren’t when the group, including Homer Simpson, Apu, Principal Skinner, and Barney, took off to huge fame with their hit “Baby on Board.” It’s time for a reunion on a roof top somewhere!
N.W.H.
N.W.H. from Fear of the Black Hat lives in the shadow of their fellow fictional rap group, CB4, as does the movie. We need to get them to the forefront. Led by Ice Cold (Rusty Cundieff) and Tasty Taste (Larry B. Scott), they could have been huge. The raunchier they get, the better they are, so they’ve got to be fun in concert.
Hedwig and The Angry Inch
Glam Rock never goes out of style and neither does a classic like Hedwig and The Angry Inch. While it would be better to see them in a smokey club, probably, we’ll take them anyway we can, even in a stadium or with 100,000 at Glastonbury. Let’s make it happen!
Eddie And The Cruisers
At the height of his fame Eddie Wilson of Eddie And The Cruisers, from the movie of the same name, crashed his car into a river and disappeared forever. It’s the kind of story that could lead to the biggest Coachella reunion of all time, should Eddie and bass player Sal (Matthew Laurance) and Eddie (Michael Pare) can agree on what the band is, artistically.
The Commitments
The Commitments from the movie of the same name, fell victim to infighting and they never got the due that they deserved. It’s time to bring them back for a triumphant concert tour! Sure, it’s a little weird watching an Irish band play American soul music, but they are sure are good at it!
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
Let’s be honest here, is there anyone that wouldn’t want to see the house band for The Muppet Show in concert? Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem seem like the kind of band that would be at home in any venue, in a club, in a theater, or even on the main stage of a huge festival. They’d kill it, just like The Muppets Mayhem show.
Loveburger
The biggest “What if” on this list has to be Loveburger from Can’t Hardly Wait. Known more for their infighting than their music, Loveburger could be great. Or they could be terrible. We’ll never know because we never actually got to hear them play, as the cops broke up the party that was supposed to be their first gig.
The Weird Sisters
In the Harry Potter series, there is no bigger name in music than The Weird Sisters. Made up of Hogwarts alumni, they sure know how to get the student body excited. The secret sauce is that the band’s characters are played by some pretty great real musicians, including members of Radiohead and Pulp.
The Pinheads
Led by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future, The Pinheads never really get a chance to shine. Despite a fiery version of Huey Lewis and the News’ “Power of Love,” in an audition to play the school dance, they were shot down by one of the teachers, played by Huey Lewis, of course. Let’s get them on tour so we can all judge for ourselves!
Johnny Bravo
The Brady Bunch, from the legendary show of the same name, were quite a band themselves, but who we really want to see is Greg Brady’s side project, Johnny Bravo. Johnny Bravo wants to be a genuine rock star and while his sound is a water-down version of what was great about the 1960s (like the show itself), he’d be great at a free concert in a park somewhere.
Steel Dragon
Heavy metal band Steel Dragon makes dreams come true. In Rock Star, Steel Dragon fan Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) gets his shot to become the lead singer for his favorite band and he makes it happen. While seeing the band with its original lineup may be more satisfying for music snobs, will stick with the version of the band with Chris.
The Lone Rangers
Okay, The Lone Rangers in Airheads are a mess. All three members are a few keys short of a full piano, but they are so darn endearing. Chazz Darby (Brendan Fraser), Rex (Steve Buscemi), and his brother Pip (Adam Sandler) are one power trio we’d love to blow away from the stage.
Crucial Taunt
Cassandra (Tia Carrere) and her band Crucial Taunt blitz the audience in Wayne’s World. Cassandra is mesmerizing, especially to Wayne, and who is going to doubt the great Wayne Campbell’s taste in music? It’s excellent.
Dewey Cox
Dewey Cox in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is so over the top and ridiculous, he should be on anyone’s list to see live in concert. You never know what you’re going to get with the unpredictable Cox, and we’re here for it, aren’t you?
Emmet Otter’s Jugband
It’s been decades since we were first introduced to the great Emmet Otter’s Jugband, in the Muppet special Emmet Otter’s Jugband’s Christmas and we’ve never gotten a follow-up. A reunion of these downhome muppets would be huge, we’re talking Talking Heads huge! Okay, maybe not that big, but still we badly want to see them play.
Maxwell Demon and Venus in Furs
David Bowie is gone. So it is Freddy Mercury. Some of the greatest names in Glam Rock are gone forever which makes Maxwell Demon and Venus in Furs from Velvet Goldmine all that much more important. The over-the-top costumes and shows are something that is often missing in rock ‘n roll these days, and a show by Demon and Co. would really scratch that itch.
There’s no question that concerts by any of these bands would be instant sellouts. It’s probably best that we not ask too many questions about their entire catalog, odds are most of them are pretty thin. But no matter! We’ll just keep dreaming about seeing these legends in concert.