fringe rock 

noun: rock music on the edge of the mainstream, not catering to common sounds or ideals.

The 42Five, of Placerville, California, is the first fringe rock band. Check them out - they're amazing!

fringe rock by rockgoddess42 March 25, 2011

Fringe Rock 

Fringe Rock is a style of music that incorporates many different classic genres of Rock but does not fit neatly into any established micro-genre. It is Rock music that sits on the edge of commercial rock, hence on the "fringe" of what is currently mainstream.

The term can trace its roots back to the 1970s and the British TV program "The Old Grey Whistle Test" but it is not known if it was coined by "Whispering" Bob Harris or if it originated elsewhere. The Fringe Rock movement saw a resurgence in the UK in the 1990s, with bands such as Ether and Janus Stark, and in the USA with bands such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre & CAKE. Through the 2000s the Fringe Rock baton was carried by bands such as The Warlocks, Singapore Sling and The Dolly Rocker Movement.

The 2020s have seen renewed interest in the Fringe Rock scene with independent bands and artists rejecting the mainstream sound. Modern examples of Fringe Rock include Yard Act, DEADLETTER, Dazzle Rebel, Deep Tan, The Dirty English and Forty Feet Tall.

The music of the Fringe Rock scene produces some of the most diverse and exciting of all sub-genres.

Fringe Rock by Encyclopedia Of Rock Music April 14, 2023