Bad Bunny, Charli XCX, Olivia Rodrigo

u/hitmanhooker likened the web discourse surrounding this yr’s ACL Fest lineup to ready in line for a curler coaster at an amusement park: constructing anticipation amongst excited strangers is probably extra thrilling than the experience itself. 

The American-Statesman agrees. Reddit and Instagram customers informed us they hope the next artists will take the stage at Zilker Park on the primary two weekends of October. Here are our ideas.

We are utilizing a five-microphone scale to fee these guesses. Five indicators a close to lock and one an extended shot.

A.G.: We beforehand speculated that Karol G could possibly be within the ACL combine, however since our final spherical of predictions, she has introduced tour dates that place her in Texas simply days earlier than Weekend one. Her schedule leaves openings on Oct. 4, 10 and 11, dates that overlap with the pageant and are positive to maintain fan hypothesis alive. 

u/belligerentbuddy: “With speculation that Charli XCX is done after Leeds, I’m definitely intrigued by the Olivia Rodrigo rumors. Would love Skrillex! The XX and Rufus du Sol also seem highly in contention for EDM headliner.”

A.G.: Yes, her final introduced tour date is at Leeds Festival on Aug. 29, leaving loads of time for Charli xcx to return stateside. She can also be headlining Lollapalooza in July, and since ACL Fest and Lollapalooza share a promoter, C3 Presents, it might not be shocking to see her pull double obligation as a headliner.

Likelihood:

A.G.: It can also be truthful to invest about Olivia Rodrigo, who headlined Lollapalooza final yr. Her web site teases a tour for her upcoming album out June 12. No official dates have been introduced, however ACL would make sense as an early cease.

Likelihood:

A.G.: RÜFÜS DU SOL had been in Austin simply final spring at Q2 Stadium, and their present tour schedule wraps in September, making an ACL return potential.

A.G.: The xx are additionally value watching. The band is taking part in a number of festivals this summer season, together with Kilby Block Party, Primavera Sound and Outside Lands, with their final introduced date set for Aug. 15 in Denmark. They final performed ACL in 2017.  

M.S.: We must do not forget that Jamie XX is opening up for Harry Styles’ Madison Square Garden residency each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening from Aug. 26 by way of Oct. 31. So, if he was going to be a Sunday headliner, he’d actually have to leap on a  flight from New York City to Austin and again, which will not be possible for his schedule.

u/vokebot: “Die Spitz gotta be a lock. A local Austin band on a white hot tour with a perfect window in their schedule to come home and throw down. Edit: also, they are on Jack White’s label and he has Austin booked in early October. The gang’s all here.”

A.G.: The Austin band doesn’t have any present Texas dates for the rest of their tour, which conveniently has a month-long hole this October. Jack White is ready to play Moody on Oct. 6, simply two days after ACL Weekend 1, with just one present in Nashville introduced for the pageant’s second weekend, leaving Oct. 10 and 11 as dates for a potential cameo at Zilker. 

M.S.: Die Spitz is arguably the most well liked band breaking out of Austin proper now. They did play the pageant two years in the past, which could possibly be thought-about too quickly for an invitation again, however they’ve gained a lot extra momentum since then.

u/diego877: Gimme Turnstile and a shock headliner in The Cure on Friday and I’ll be completely happy

A.G.: Turnstile is taking part in two C3 Presents festivals of their ongoing tour – Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza – so a 3rd C3 pageant could possibly be within the books. Their present dates cease on Oct. 9 in Arizona, leaving room for appearances each weekends of ACL. 

Likelihood:

A.G.: The Cure can also be on tour, however their solely dates are in Europe. However, with a break in August, we will cross our fingers and hope they cross the pond.

u/mrhooker: I’d add Mumford and Sons to your listing. It’s the one approach it may possibly have any credibility on this sub

A.G.: Ah, sure. Would it’s a reputable listing with out ACL favourite Mumford & Sons? Let’s look at the case: the band has tour dates in The Woodlands on Oct. 1 and Albuquerque on Oct. 3, which would depart Oct. 2 open for a potential ACL look. They at the moment haven’t any introduced dates for the pageant’s second weekend. It could be a fast return after headlining in 2023 and beforehand in 2019, however in terms of Mumford & Sons at ACL, by no means say by no means.

M.S.: Ah, “Bumford & Sons.” It’s hilarious that anticipating Mumford & Sons has develop into a bit inside r/aclfest and has develop into one in every of Austin’s townie memes, like referencing the Chili’s on 45th and Lamar. u/treewizard90 even joked that Marcus Mumford might as effectively be a co-owner of the pageant at this level. Another individual in contrast them to a free area on a Bingo card. The consensus appears to be a convincing “no more stomp clap.”

u/stupidjanrogers: Bleachers have W1 and W2 gaps of their new album tour with stops in Atlanta, Raleigh, and Nashville in between

A.G.: Yes, they do. They final performed ACL in 2021 and stopped on the Waterloo Amphitheater in 2024. An ACL cease appears extremely possible.

M.S.: I might like to see Jack Antonoff, however I’m not too assured on this one. I really feel the probabilities of seeing Bleachers on the fest this yr are about as possible as seeing LCD Soundsystem make it on the lineup, however I’d actually like to be confirmed in any other case.

u/atx51241: Usher and Chris Brown have openings these weekends and they’re in Texas too

M.S.: My life flashed earlier than my eyes once I noticed that Usher and Chris Brown shall be in Texas for the primary two weekends of October. I haven’t forgotten what Brown did to Rihanna in 2009 and Usher is too Diddy-adjacent for me right now, however each appear to be a robust chance. If both make the lower, it’ll in all probability be as a Sunday headliner, since their different reveals are in El Paso on Saturday and San Antonio on Monday round weekend one after which Houston on Friday and Saturday throughout weekend two.

Likelihood:

Instagram @tortillatina: Pls Tame Impala

A.G.: The group was in Austin final November at Moody Center, the place they set an attendance file for the venue, so native demand is clearly there. Their final introduced U.S. tour dates are in September in Houston earlier than they return to Australia on Oct. 9, the identical day ACL Weekend 2 begins. It appears unlikely they might play just one weekend of the pageant, however with no reveals at the moment scheduled throughout ACL’s first weekend, it’s not unimaginable.

Instagram @alexish.78: What are the possibilities Benito would play ACL? I do know he isn’t going to tour for a couple of years, buuuuuut ACL is completely different (wishful pondering, I do know)

A.G.: Who wouldn’t need Bad Bunny to headline? His newest album has introduced many English-speaking listeners to Latin music, particularly reggaeton. Still, Benito has been vocal about not scheduling U.S. dates on his present world tour due to issues over ICE raids. His summer season tour dates hold him in Europe by way of July, with no extra reveals introduced after that. Bad Bunny has by no means performed ACL, so for now, the concept does really feel extra like wishful pondering than a critical prediction.

Instagram @andxeax: im saying harry types….

A.G.: The heartthrob appears to have a sure love affair with our metropolis, booking a run of Harry’s House dates at the Moody in 2022, giving us early listening to his most recent album and bringing his vibrator pop-up to Austin earlier this yr. His tour nevertheless locations him at Madison Square Garden for each ACL weekends except Oct. 4 and Oct. 11, which implies we might see him as a Sunday headliner. It could be his first pageant cease for that tour.