u/hitmanhooker likened the online discourse surrounding this year’s ACL Fest lineup to waiting in line for a roller coaster at an amusement park: building anticipation among excited strangers is potentially more thrilling than the ride itself. 

The American-Statesman agrees. Reddit and Instagram users told us they hope the following artists will take the stage at Zilker Park on the first two weekends of October. Here are our thoughts.

We are using a five-microphone scale to rate these guesses. Five signals a near lock and one a long shot.

A.G.: We previously speculated that Karol G could be in the ACL mix, but since our last round of predictions, she has announced tour dates that place her in Texas just days before Weekend one. Her schedule leaves openings on Oct. 4, 10 and 11, dates that overlap with the festival and are sure to keep fan speculation 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 last announced tour date is at Leeds Festival on Aug. 29, leaving plenty of time for Charli xcx to return stateside. She is also headlining Lollapalooza in July, and since ACL Fest and Lollapalooza share a promoter, C3 Presents, it would not be surprising to see her pull double duty as a headliner.

Likelihood: 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

A.G.: It is also fair to speculate about Olivia Rodrigo, who headlined Lollapalooza last year. Her website teases a tour for her upcoming album out June 12. No official dates have been announced, but ACL would make sense as an early stop.

Likelihood: 🎤🎤🎤🎤

A.G.: RÜFÜS DU SOL were in Austin just last spring at Q2 Stadium, and their current tour schedule wraps in September, making an ACL return possible.

A.G.: The xx are also worth watching. The band is playing several festivals this summer, including Kilby Block Party, Primavera Sound and Outside Lands, with their last announced date set for Aug. 15 in Denmark. They last played ACL in 2017.  

M.S.: We need to remember that Jamie XX is opening up for Harry Styles’ Madison Square Garden residency every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night from Aug. 26 through Oct. 31. So, if he was going to be a Sunday headliner, he’d literally have to jump on a  flight from New York City to Austin and back, which may not be feasible 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 does not have any current Texas dates for the remainder of their tour, which conveniently has a month-long gap this October. Jack White is set to play Moody on Oct. 6, just two days after ACL Weekend 1, with only one show in Nashville announced for the festival’s second weekend, leaving Oct. 10 and 11 as dates for a possible cameo at Zilker. 

M.S.: Die Spitz is arguably the hottest band breaking out of Austin right now. They did play the festival two years ago, which could be considered too soon for an invite back, but they have gained so much more momentum since then.

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

A.G.: Turnstile is playing two C3 Presents festivals in their ongoing tour – Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza – so a third C3 festival could be in the books. Their current dates stop on Oct. 9 in Arizona, leaving room for appearances both weekends of ACL. 

Likelihood: 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

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

u/mrhooker: I’d add Mumford and Sons to your list. It’s the only way it can have any credibility in this sub

A.G.: Ah, yes. Would it be a credible list without ACL favorite Mumford & Sons? Let’s examine the case: the band has tour dates in The Woodlands on Oct. 1 and Albuquerque on Oct. 3, which would leave Oct. 2 open for a possible ACL appearance. They currently have no announced dates for the festival’s second weekend. It would be a quick return after headlining in 2023 and previously in 2019, but when it comes to Mumford & Sons at ACL, never say never.

M.S.: Ah, “Bumford & Sons.” It’s hilarious that anticipating Mumford & Sons has become a bit within r/aclfest and has become one of Austin’s townie memes, like referencing the Chili’s on 45th and Lamar. u/treewizard90 even joked that Marcus Mumford may as well be a co-owner of the festival at this point. Another person compared them to a free space on a Bingo card. The consensus seems to be a resounding “no more stomp clap.”

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

A.G.: Yes, they do. They last played ACL in 2021 and stopped at the Waterloo Amphitheater in 2024. An ACL stop seems highly likely.

M.S.: I would love to see Jack Antonoff, but I’m not too confident on this one. I feel the chances of seeing Bleachers at the fest this year are about as likely as seeing LCD Soundsystem make it on the lineup, but I’d honestly love to be proven otherwise.

u/atx51241: Usher and Chris Brown have openings those weekends and they are in Texas too

M.S.: My life flashed before my eyes when I saw that Usher and Chris Brown will be in Texas for the first 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, but both look like a strong possibility. If either make the cut, it will probably be as a Sunday headliner, since their other shows are in El Paso on Saturday and San Antonio on Monday around weekend one and then Houston on Friday and Saturday during weekend two.

Likelihood: 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

Instagram @tortillatina: Pls Tame Impala

A.G.: The group was in Austin last November at Moody Center, where they set an attendance record for the venue, so local demand is clearly there. Their last announced U.S. tour dates are in September in Houston before they return to Australia on Oct. 9, the same day ACL Weekend 2 begins. It seems unlikely they would play only one weekend of the festival, but with no shows currently scheduled during ACL’s first weekend, it is not impossible.

Instagram @alexish.78: What are the chances Benito would play ACL? I know he’s not going to tour for a few years, buuuuuut ACL is different 👀 (wishful thinking, I know)

A.G.: Who wouldn’t want Bad Bunny to headline? His latest album has brought many English-speaking listeners to Latin music, especially reggaeton. Still, Benito has been vocal about not scheduling U.S. dates on his current world tour because of concerns over ICE raids. His summer tour dates keep him in Europe through July, with no additional shows announced after that. Bad Bunny has never played ACL, so for now, the idea does feel more like wishful thinking than a serious prediction.

Instagram @andxeax: im saying harry styles….

A.G.: The heartthrob seems to have a certain love affair with our city, 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 year. His tour however places him at Madison Square Garden for both ACL weekends with the exception of Oct. 4 and Oct. 11, which means we could see him as a Sunday headliner. It would be his first festival stop for that tour.