The traditional season of giving may be over, but for music festivalgoers, it has just begun. The blogosphere is abuzz with possible lineup leaks, wish lists and predictions.
As per usual, Coachella was first to announce their lineup last week, providing insight as to what fans might expect to see at Bonnaroo, Pitchfork and Lollapalooza.
The Indio, CA, festival slotted Muse, Arcade Fire and the reunited Outkast as headliners. Undercards Chvrches, Grouplove, Bastille, Haim and Lorde seem likely to perform multiple North American festivals this year as they have all made their way into the public spotlight with widely celebrated 2013 releases.
Luckily for speculators nearly every large-scale festival with multiple genres of artists follows a similar formula. Usually three top-tier headliners are booked, one of which is a legacy act like Paul McCartney at last year’s Bonnaroo or The Cure at Lollapalooza. Many second-tier slots are traditionally filled with a few acts that have recently found a national audience, like Vampire Weekend.
With this in mind – and dozens of tour schedules to peruse and cross reference – here are some educated predictions for a handful of this summer’s festivals.
Bonnaroo, the early summer festival takes place over just one weekend, making predictions less clear-cut than the two-weekend- long Coachella. However, Toronto’s North By Northeast (NXNE) Festival takes place the weekend afterward, and Wakarusa in Arkansas the weekend before. Both have announced their initial lineups, which could hint at Bonnaroo appearances for a number of groups.
Danny Brown, Rhye, Mac DeMarco and St. Vincent are all possibilities due to their NXNE slot, although DeMarco played at a small stage and St. Vincent performed with David Byrne last year. Umphrey’s McGee is a Wakarusa staple and Bonnaroo vet, and a tweet at a fan a few weeks ago hinted at another return to Bonnaroo.
Cage the Elephant also seemed to confirm their appearance via a Reddit post late last year. But the only true confirmation that Festival Outlook stands behind is multi- instrumentalist Andrew Bird.
The first “Roo Clues” have been posted on Instagram in anticipation of the lineup release. Many speculators believe that the initial clues hint at Washed Out and Break Science. Both are to perform at Coachella.
Headliners are even less clear-cut. Bonnaroo and Coachella traditionally do not share headliners, ruling out Arcade Fire and Outkast. Lady Gaga’s early June gap could suggest an appearance, but Bonnaroo tends to avoid slotting pop stars as headliners.
Historically, Lollapalooza and Coachella tend to share a few second-tier headliners and undercards, making buzzbands like Bastille, Chvrches and Grouplove all likely candidates. A post on the Lollapalooza message boards supposedly confirms Sleigh Bells, and according to The DePaulia’s review of The 1975 performance last fall, the group hinted at their return for the festival this summer.
Festival Outlook suggests that, based upon tour extrapolation, two of the upper-tier performers will be Justin Timberlake – who has a suspicious schedule gap early August – and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Arctic Monkeys’ Bandsintown had them performing in Chicago Lollapalooza weekend before the post was deleted, which may hint at a return to Grant Park. However, Lady Gaga’s July performance and Arcade Fire’s August performance at the United Center rules them both out as return headliners.
This still leaves room for a legacy act. Rumors suggest that Pearl Jam’s open-ended summer European tour might mean a return to Chicago after last year’s stint at Wrigley Field. Others hypothesize everything from Neil Young to Metallica.
Pitchfork, which will take place July 18-20, can be difficult to predict because it occurs so closely to Lollapalooza. As a smaller festival, it has an appropriately lower budget and a decidedly different demographic. In years past, Pitchfork Media legacy acts or indie rock heroes – such as Vampire Weekend, Animal Collective, Pavement – were booked at the top of the bill, but last year’s festival was headlined by more universally popular artists R. Kelly and Bjork.
However, Pitchfork’s holy year-end lists usually hint at its festival’s undercards. Up-and- comers Speedy Ortiz, Mutual Benefit and Deafheaven were all championed by the publication last year and will be touring through springtime, which could make them good candidates. For the most part, it’s too early to formulate anything but an educated guess.