It’s honestly hard to believe that The Traveling Wilburys ever existed. Running from 1988 to 1991 and leaving behind a pair of platinum albums, they were the textbook definition of a supergroup—merging the talents of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Electric Light Orchestra mastermind Jeff Lynne, and (prior to his death in late 1988) Roy Orbison.
It’s hard to argue that we’ve seen a real successor, at least in terms of star power. Still, it’s fun to debate what one might look like in 2025. What are the parameters for this imaginary band? What makes a musician worthy? Is it fame and chart success? Critical acclaim and reputation? Do the artists in question have to channel the Wilburys’ roots-rock spirit? Does age matter? There are tons of questions.
Redditor Hank_Henry_Hll brought this thought experiment to the Internet and outlined the terms. "There was a recent Roy Orbison thread which got me to thinking about a modern day analog to the absolutely amazing supergroup The Traveling Wilburys," they wrote. "Which artists have the chops and the popularity to even be considered? Artist have to still alive. Also must be between 35 and 55 years old. I doubt we find anyone to be honest but might be fun to discuss."
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It’s fun to sort through the responses and see, even with those specifics in place, how music fans interpret this prompt. The OP’s suggestion was a trio: Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Jack White, and John Mayer. (If we’re following the rules precisely, Grohl would be disqualified at age 56). All of those guys pop up throughout the thread, with White near the top: The highest-rated comment suggests a collaboration between the former White Stripes front man and Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme, a collaboration I would absolutely love to hear. White feels like a natural fit: capable of writing, singing, and ripping a guitar solo when necessary. Homme seems like more of an outlier, given his preference for heavy sounds, but I have no doubt he could pull it off.
Another popular pick is Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, who makes sense on multiple levels. He really captures the Wilburys aesthetic: a classic singer-songwriter and studio maverick, with an affinity for both folksiness and classic rock sounds (His name pops up a dozen or so times, and he seems like a clear winner—that is, until you realize he’s 57, just outside of the requested age range).
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After a while, you realize that most people have thrown out the rules entirely and decided to follow their gut, which is probably the cleanest course of action. "What’s crazy is how fast time flies," someone wrote. "Rules say have to be 35-55. We all get old and sometimes the numbers sneak up on us…[Oasis’] Noel [Gallagher] is 57, [Pearl Jam’s] Eddie [Vedder] is 60, Tweedy is 57, [Radiohead’s] Thom [Yorke] is 57, Beck just sneaks in at 54, and Neil Young is 116."
Everyone above earned multiple Reddit votes, as did Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and My Morning Jacket leader Jim James. Speaking of the latter, multiple people shouted out his one-off supergroup collaboration Monsters of Folk, which also featured singer-songwriter M. Ward and two members of Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis).
You could curate multiple killer five-person supergroups from that batch of musicians. But, if you go with the votes, it would probably look something like this: White, Vedder, Beck, Tweedy, and Grohl, with Mayer and Jason Isbell as possible alternates. (My personal vote: Yorke, James, Tweedy, Beck, and White.)
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The irony is that, by trying to artificially bring these musicians together, we’d lose the organic chemistry and spontaneity that made The Traveling Wilburys possible in the first place. The project started in April 1988 after Harrison’s record company asked him for an extra song to include on a single release. He didn’t have one, so he decided to quickly crank out a track in the studio—and through a series of casual coincidences, the other members were available to co-write and record what became "Handle With Care," the accidental band’s debut single.
"It’s one of those things that, I think, had you tried to plan it, it would have never happened," Harrison told MTV in 1988. "It just happened on its own accord."
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Stoic statueCanva
A family makes heart shapes with their hands at sunset
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
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While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
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The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
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