ACL 2018: Ridiculously, Outrageously Early Predictions Based on Nothing Concrete

Oh man, I had to drive to Dallas and back yesterday, which is a long ass day of driving.  So I spent a chunk of that time finishing up a podcast (S-Town is weird and good, btw), then listening to the new Kamayiah (OK so far), and then thinking about who is going to headline ACL next year.  As usual with my post that happens before the new year has even passed, I know this is ridiculous. Making guesses this early and without any research. But I have thoughts. They are based on nothing at all. This is pure conjecture. But I feel like I have solid guesses and I need to share them. Here are the top 6 headliners.  BTW, I got this super wrong last year, with only the Chilis right out of the top 6 I chose, falling flat with Green Day, Metallica, Steve Aoki, Paul Simon, and Daft Punk.  So read this for what it is worth.

• Beck. This is my most solid guess as of right now. Perfect headliner. Totally kick ass, fun, exciting new album that crosses over into dance and rock at the same time.  He hasn't been to ACL in a few years.  He's also doing the Aussie and NZ ACLs.  I feel good about this.

• Queens of the Stone Age.  Another excellent new album this year and they haven't played for a few years.  Maybe not big enough to be a top 6 headliner (except to me) so maybe this is a silly prediction anyway.
• I thought Arcade Fire would be here last year and was foolishly incorrect.  Maybe next year?
• Kanye West.  Honestly, this pick is based on thinking through who is a major rap star who hasn't been in a while.  I don't know if Kanye is even still doing music anymore.  But we've already recently done Jay-Z, Drake, Kendrick, Chance, RTJ, Cube, Outkast, Eminem...  So I'm going with Kanye.
• For a big EDM group, maybe I was off by one year and Daft Punk will be the big electronic group in 2018?  I don't know enough about EDM to know who else to predict for this slot.
• Having a hell of a time coming up with number 6.  U2 would be rad but I kind of doubt it.  Lady Gaga just played Austin.  I always want to guess Paul Simon.  Fleetwood Mac on their reunion touring?  Black Keys, Lorde, Muse, Coldplay?  Everyone else I am thinking of doesn't belong on the top line of the poster...  I'll say U2.

I'd honestly be super pumped to have Beck, Queens, Arcade Fire, and Kanye show up, so this would excite me for sure.  After the new year, I'll get rolling on my massively nerdy, detailed prediction posts, which will be based on more data than this one, which is just instincts.