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.
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