ACL Festival Photo by Roger Ho for ACL Festival.
The 2018 ACL Festival returns to Zilker Park in October for two huge weekends. ACL is considered one of the upper echelon of festivals around the country and their stacked lineups are part of that reason.
Every year at the station we start trying to predict who we expect (and a lot of hope) to see on the lineup for both weekends. We try to make it seem like educated guessing but really it just comes across like Charlie's mailroom freakout from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Enough of our behind the scene meltdowns of trying to predict who is going to play. Here is our list of predictions for who we expect (hope) to see at the 2018 ACL Music Festival!
Jack White - We know he's playing the Austin360 Amphitheater but it's not so far fetched to see him return for the fest.
The Weeknd - He did play in 2015, which isn't that long ago, but we may see his return to Zilker in 2018.
The National - The Grammy Award winners are popping up on fest lineups all over so we're throwing them on too.
Travis Scott - The cat may be out of the bag on this one but we expect to see the Texan born hip hop artist on this year's lineup.
Arctic Monkeys - They're being rumored for Lollapalooza and are confirmed for Firefly Festival. This one is more a pipe dream with our fingers crossed.
Arctic Monkeys - Official Press Photo
Odesza - There is usually a big EDM/DJ in a headlining spot and Odesza seems to be the hottest of the year.
Sturgill Simpson - Sturgill has been announced for the Willie Nelson 4th of July Picnic. Not saying it 100% rules him out but highly unlikely now. (3/4)
Vampire Weekend - Rumblings of new music in 2018 and Lollapalooza rumors are running wild. Let's add the rumor of them playing ACL this October.
David Byrne - He has three shows in Texas but no Austin date. He's also on just about every festival lineup. Seeing David on the lineup would be our everything!
CHVRCHES - They have new music for 2018, are playing Governor's Ball and are well loved in Austin.
Official CHVRCHES Press Photo by Danny Clinch
Father John Misty - New music is on the way and he's on multiple festival lineups. Would make sense to see him in Austin in October.
Chromeo - Like Jack White listed above, Chromeo are playing Austin during this year (April 18 at Stubb's). We've seen plenty of acts play ACL after playing in Austin months before.
Tune-Yards - Like Chromeo above, we expect to see Tune-Yards backs at the park this October. They'll play Emo's Austin on May 2nd
Rezz- Rezz is playing Red Rocks on October 13th but we could see her rock ACL for a Weekend 1 set!
Manchester Orchestra - They seem to be only playing festivals in 2018. Like literally every festival possible. That's why we're adding them.
Greta Van Fleet - They'll play Stubb's Austin on May 3rd but as hot as they are right now it would be smart to bring them back for a two weekend stint in October.
Rebelution - Another band with a show early in the year that would bean easy bring back. They play ACL Live on February 24th.
Brockhampton - They sold out Emo's Austin back in January and their stock only continues to skyrocket. The Texas natives would be a great addition to the lineup.
Sofi Tukker - One of the hottest songs in the world right now comes from Sofi Tukker. ACL has always been great getting artists when they're hot. They'll play Vulcan Gas Co. in May but a return wouldn't be a surprise.
Sofi Tukker - Official Press Photo
Alice Merton - As mentioned with Sofi, ACL is great at getting on the rise artists. Alice has one of the biggest songs in Alt right now and it would be a great fit for the ACL Fest lineup!
Japanese Breakfast - Add Michelle Zauner's fantastic Japanese Breakfast to the list of artists playing Austin early in the year and probably returning. She rocks Scoot Inn on April 10th and could be back for more in October.
Mt. Joy - The Philly based band seems to be popping up on every festival so throw them in the rumor mill for ACL Fest.
Mikky Ekko - Like Mt. Joy, Mikky Ekko is popping up on nearly every music festival lineup. Let's throw his name in the mix for Zilker.
Now we don't expect all of these names to be at the 2018 ACL Festival. These are predictions based off of routing, other festivals, uneducated guessing, and hopeful wishing. If all of these artists were to be on the lineup we would cry tears of joy!
We look forward to this year's lineup release later this year because we know it's going to be