The 2020s may very well be the decade of the goose, at least when it comes to naming rock bands.
Music fans have been suddenly inundated with a gaggle of bands named after the waterfowl. And like the many different varieties of the bird, you need to be able to tell these bands apart.
Goose
From: Wilton, Connecticut
Formed: 2014
Style of music: Jam rock, groove
What you should know about them: Goose garnered praise while hitting just about every jam band festival between 2019 and 2023. The buzz, coupled with the fact their sound appeals to those who have no interest in the jam scene, has allowed Goose to continue to grow as a band.
In 2025, Goose played their largest headlining gig with a four-plus-hour set at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Songs to check out: “So Ready,” “Hungersite,” “Your Direction”
Geese
From: Brooklyn, New York
Formed: 2016
Style of music: Indie rock
What you should know about them: Geese’s Getting Killed landed in a ton of “best albums of 2025” lists, creating a considerable amount of buzz to round out the year. And despite all of the press, writers have yet to come to a consensus on what exactly Geese sound like.
Comparing them to other NYC bands like The Strokes or Parquet Courts might be taking the easy way out. There’s a lot more experimentation going on throughout Getting Killed. Most of it works in a way that makes Geese a fairly accessible art-rock project that even non-indie music fans could enjoy.
Songs to check out: “Taxes,” “Cobra,” “Au Pays du Cocaine”
Silly Goose
From: Atlanta, Georgia
Formed: 2017
Style of music: Rap rock/Nu-metal
What you should know about them: Musically, Silly Goose are a bit of a throwback to the late ’90s era of nu-metal. And if you haven’t heard them by now, you might have noticed their antics being blasted all over social media.
Silly Goose have spent the past couple of years doing everything from playing pop-up shows in Subway restaurants to getting arrested for an uninvited performance at a Chicago gas station. “Whether you like it or not, the interest is a tool that exists,” Silly Goose guitarist Ian Binion told Loudwire in a 2025 interview. “If you’re starting a band in 2025, you must use it to your advantage. That’s a given.”
Songs to check out: “Bad Behavior,” “Traffic,” “Tsunami”
BONUS BAND: GOOSE
From: Belgium
Formed: 2004
Style of music: Electronic rock
What you should know about them: No, the same band didn’t make this list twice. To be totally transparent, we didn’t even know this one existed until writing the very article you’re reading right now.
This GOOSE can be easily identified by its use of all capital letters in its name. And despite being somewhat unknown to U.S. music fans, GOOSE remains a solid touring dance rock act in Europe, where they celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2024.
The band has been prominently featured several times during Belgium’s annual Pukkelpop music festival, including in 2022, when they were listed just after headliners Slipknot and Cypress Hill on the daily lineup. The following goose-related band also played Pukkelpop that same year.
Songs to check out: “Synrise,” “British Mode,” “Call Me”
Does Silly Goose have you needing more nu-metal and rap rock in your life? Take a gander at our list of the best nu-metal albums of all time.
Top 50 Nu-Metal Albums of All Time
These are the top 50 nu-metal albums of all time.
