I was completely blown away after witnessing American post-hardcore band, Our Last Night, perform live in South Africa this weekend.

The band was solid as a rock on their first-ever show in our country and interacted with fans after the show like true professionals. The crowd loved their songs, and the experience was truly magical. This showed how loyal and appreciative South African music fans are, especially when international bands come and play in our country. Numerous times, bands such as Rise Against and August Burns Red, to name but a few, have said they absolutely loved playing in South Africa. Still, there are numerous bands that have not been to our country. Here is my wishlist of bands I would like to see make the trip to SA.

5. New Found Glory

The kings of pop-punk have made music for nearly two decades and their impact on the scene, in general, has been immense. They are renowned for their interactive and energetic live shows as well as their good rapport with their fans who are extremely loyal. I would not mind singing their catchy songs at the top of my voice along with frontman, Jordan Pundik and company. The group is also due to release a new album soon; this is always a great time for a band to promote their new material around the world – so why not in South Africa?

4. Parkway Drive

I have always thought that Australian metalcore band, Parkway Drive, would enjoy our country as it generally has the same climate as Australia with a lot of cool surf spots – something this band enjoys when they are not on stage. Fans will know that Parkway Drive has an immense sound and what a treat it would be if these legends made the trip to Africa. Winston McCall is probably one of the finest vocalists in his genre, with the band growing in leaps and bounds as a sought-after live act each year. There are amazing support acts in SA for a Parkway Drive tour, such as Facing the Gallows, Red Helen, Zombies Ate My Girlfriend and so forth.

Let the circle pits and mosh pits commence.

3. Green Day

Green Day is probably the biggest rock band that has still not performed in South Africa and a lot of music fans in the country would love to see this happen. Green Day is a punk rock and rock staple and has toured the world over, except on our African continent. Chances are that they will sell out a Big Concerts-type show at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg or Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. The trio of Billy Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt need to set their feet on African soil and their trip could be interesting, especially with their political viewpoints.

2. Blink-182

It is a dream of a lot of rock fans and music fans, in general, to get the world-famous Blink-182 to South African shores. One of the biggest pitfalls in getting the band here would be the economic costs as well as finding a way to get the drummer, Travis Barker, to make the trip as he has a big fear of flying ever since surviving an aeroplane crash. How amazing it would be to get Blink to a big festival such as Oppikoppi and to see them churning out hits such as ‘Dammit’, ‘Miss You’ and ‘All The Small Things’ in the dust.

1. A Day To Remember

It might seem strange to music fans why I picked American metal band, A Day to Remember, as my first choice, but there is a method in the madness. Firstly, A Day to Remember seems like a good fit as they tour a lot and make sure they visit various places they have not been to before. Secondly, they are more likely to visit SA as they are not as well-known as Green Day or Blink-182 and it might be less expensive to get them here. Thirdly, it is because I am a big fan of their music and live shows, which are always filled with crazy moments.

People would go nuts for Jeremy McKinnon and his gang of pop-punk/metalcore misfits.