June 16, 2016 – First of all, please let me wish each and every contributor who is a father, who wants to be a father, heck who has a father — that’s me, a Happy Father’s Day.

Second, I’ve either been not near a source of inspiration, driving, and I heard nothing new on my drive, or working super hard, the consequence of having had a few days away, so I haven’t heard much in the way of songs I can share. I have found some inspiration, but it’s not ready for prime time yet. So, what that leaves (as a really small inspiration) are two radio commercials I heard for this year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas which is scheduled for this September.

One commercial, which I heard a few times before I left for this latest trip, featured the line-up for the Daytime Village stage. The first on the list of names that were read out on this commercial was my latest fav, Greta Van Fleet. I was so surprised by that, and indeed so surprised that Greta was first, that I couldn’t seem to remember the other names. The second commercial I heard while driving somewhere in Arizona. They read the list for the main event, lots of names, but one seemed so odd to me, Lynyrd Skynyrd (which I have learned to spell). Wait, what? Rock is to be included in this bastion of pop-music festival? Did I hear that right?

Not only did I get it right, but there is some headline saying Fleetwood Mac will debut a new line-up, adding Mike Campbell and Neil Finn as new band members, ahead of a tour they plan to do starting in October. Huh? Another rock act? Am I right? Three?

This festival is in its eighth year, and while I’ve never been, I know it’s heavily advertised, and I’ve really never noticed the line-up being anything other than pop music, a sprinkling of EDM, and perhaps a token country artist. So, I decided to check. Mind you, I only looked at last year’s line-up compared to this year’s, but I tell you, there is a real difference between these years. So here they are, and for your benefit, I’m going to add my classification for each artist:

2017 Daytime performers: Migos (hip hop, had to look this one up); Halsey (pop); Flume (EDM DJ); Little Mix (British girl group from the X-factor, likewise, had to look this one up); French Montana (hip hop, another look-up); Niall Horan (pop); Bleachers (indie pop that I don’t know); Kelsea Ballerini (country); Judah & The Lion (what?, looking that up says it’s a band, and I still don’t know and from the one song I sampled, it’s pretty good); Bebe Rexha (pop, and she’s a songwriter for others); Noah Cyrus (singer-songwriter sounding, I don’t know this either); Hey Violet (cute girl with pink hair making unknown pop stuff); Cheat Codes (EDM DJ-trio, wonder why they need three?); All Time Low (rock band from Baltimore, didn’t listen yet); Khalid (hip hop); Julia Michaels (singer songwriter with a song on Fifty Shades Freed, so I suppose I should know her — more good hair, by the way).

2017 Main Stage performers: Coldplay (band that thinks it’s rock, but isn’t); The Weeknd (pop); DJ Khaled (seriously what’s the difference between this guy and Khalid, I can’t keep it straight); Chris Stapleton (country); Lorde (alternative); Kings of Leon (alternative), Big Sean (who?, okay the Internet says he is a rapper, not that I couldn’t have guessed); P!NK (when did she do that to her name(?), but she’s pop), Miley Cryus (pop, these days); Thirty Seconds to Mars (really annoying alternative), Niall Horan (pop, and apparently he performed at dusk, meaning day and night); David Guetta (EDM DJ); Thomas Rhett (country); Harry Styles (pop); Kesha (pop).

To sum up 2017, like I said, it was mostly pop, and EDM or hip hop that’s also in the pop vein, and a few token other things, country and alternative artists. No real rock was included at all. And I don’t remember hearing the name of any rock, meaning not alternative, act ever in any other year. Yep, my “huh, rock?”reaction to the 2018 commercial is confirmed.

I wanted to see how the rock acts fit in the 2018 line-up, but what I ended up seeing is that there is so much less pop. The 2018 line-up has a strong country presence, both with the daytime performers and with the nighttime. And the rock they have isn’t some Coldplay style, it’s real. Check it out for yourselves, again with my narration on the music genres of the artists:

2018 Daytime performers: Logic (rapper); Dua Lipa (female singer-songwriter); 5 Seconds of Summer (pop band that allegedly plays guitars, classified as a pop-rock band, but it sounds like pop to me); Lil Uzi Vert (hip hop); Dustin Lynch (country, probably the only redeeming thing on this list); Bazzi (male singer-songwriter); Belly (Palestinian-Jordanian-Canadian rapper, what?); Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots (impossible to find anything other than some really bad song called If I Was Your Boyfriend, please don’t waste your time); Greta Van Fleet (amazing new rock band that’s going to smoke all of these people).

2018 Main Stage performers: Justin Timberlake (pop icon); Jack White (rock, kind of alternative, but rock); Carrie Underwood (country); Mariah Carey (pop); Imagine Dragons (retarded alternative band); Jason Aldeen (country); Sam Smith (pop, but a singer); Luke Bryan (country); Lynyrd Skynyrd (rock, like with actual guitars); Panic At The Disco (alternative); Kelly Clarkson (country); Shawn Mendes (pop, but a singer too); Kygo (EDM DJ); Rae Sremmurd (hip hop duo); Logic (rapper, another one duplicated from the day, not sure why); and apparently, although only in a separate article, some new incarnation of Fleetwood Mac (rock).

It’s small, but here’s the way I see it. There are quite a few more country performers in this 2018 line-up, especially on the main stage. And the pop artists for 2018 are much more musical, meaning the singer-songwriter variety. While those things — country and singer-songwriter — are not rock, they aren’t the kind of pop that was on the 2017 line-up, and they aren’t the kind of younger pop either. Those two musical types even have guitars, maybe not in the same form as rock, but they are music, music with guitars. And … there is rock in this line-up. Three separate rock acts. Not Coldplay. Not alternative. But real, honest to goodness rock acts.

Is this just a coincidence of these acts touring, or even touring for the last time? Will it hold true through next year as some sort of trend? Will it, could it grow as far as the number of acts on the line-up for next year? I don’t know. But the iHeart festival is geared to a young audience. What if, just what if, that audience pays attention. What if that young audience likes these rock acts?

I feel it. I really do. Things are changing.