I'm doing this one again, despite being a wonderfully insightful zero for five last year with my predictions of old folks who might come to the Fest. WHATEVER! No need to be right, right? Everyone just loves to get their hopes up and then have them dashed to the ground when Drake clogs up the spot I had promised would go to the Stones! So fun!
For this first prediction blog, I thought I would look for the old people who might be on tap. Last year, I'd consider Guns N Roses and The Cure to be oldies but goodies, with zero recent music but huge fan bases nonetheless. Two years ago, it was Paul McCartney (and to some extent, David Byrne) who made the Festival into a must-see for die hard music people, regardless of genre. 2017 didn't have anyone like that (although I would argue that Jay-Z acted like he was a 76 year old just there to get paid and get back on the bus). 2016 had Willie Nelson (and to some extent, LCD Soundsystem and Radiohead) as the old school legacy act you needed to see one more time before he dies. So, who might be our non-currently popular headliner this year?
For this, I'm listing bands that either are broken up, don't put out current music, or otherwise seem like nostalgia acts who may show up here.
Fleetwood Mac. They were on tour last year, but this year don't seem to have any dates at all on their calendar. So, nope. Stevie Nicks is on tour (sorta) with dates at Jazz Fest, Governors Ball, and something called Jazz Aspen Festival in Snowmass, CO. She's done with those dates by Sept. 6, so she has the time to announce ACL. Personally, I wouldn't be that excited to see Nicks on her own, but I could see this being popular with all of the young ladies out there who cite Nicks and her scarf collection as an influence. Maybe.
Bruce Springsteen. He claims to be going on tour in 2020, which is promising. But as of right now, his website has a totally blank touring schedule, so there is no way to know what might be coming. I'll just keep my fingers crossed, despite the intelligent side of my brain saying this will never happen. Likely not.
R.E.M. PLEASE?!?!?! There's just about no way. Almost every article about them explains that they broke up happy and there's no reason to revisit that decision. WHICH BLOWS!!! No.
Rage Against the Machine. Hell yeah. I hope this one will work. They announced a headlining slot at Coachella last year, and then a tour poster leaked showing dates at several other festivals throughout 2020. Which really should mean that they'll be here for ACL. That same article right there claims that an anonymous person has claimed responsibility for creating the fake poster, but it seems weird that the official RATM account would have shared the fake? Smells real to me. However, this poster shows them in Rio on the Saturday of weekend one, which sure would make it exhausting for them to still show up in Austin and play on either Friday or Sunday. That takes a little of the wind out of my sails. Screw it, I'm still gonna go with it. Yes.
[EDIT] - but, RATM was just announced for headliner at Boston Calling (May 22-24) (which has an extremely awesome lineup, with Foos, Rage, Chilis, Jason Isbell, Run the Jewels, and others) and Firefly (June 18-20). Neither of those Fests are listed on that potentially fake tour poster, so it seems like another nail in the coffin for that being fake. BUT, it also is good that they are headlining two other Fests, and may have no conflict with that Rio show. Feeling even stronger about this one.
Last year, I was sure we might get Dead & Company, which would have been awesome to me. That obviously did not happen. They aren't on tour this year, and the only show on their calendar is at Jazz Fest, so I don't see this one happening. No.
Elton John. Elton's Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour started back in September 2018 and included past dates in both Houston and Dallas, but none in Austin. AND ITS STILL GOING. I don't know if I could take being that guy, still doing the farewell tour like 18 months in a row. Plugging away at the same greatest hits show every night... He's in New Zealand and Australia right now, with Canadian dates to come, before ducking back into the States for another bite. He hits Dallas and Houston for two more dates each in June and July, but again doesn't come to Austin. He takes a big break with nothing scheduled in August, but then picks back up in September in Germany. Which means he is in Spain for weekend one, and France for weekend two, so it looks like no "Honky Cat" for you! No.
Rolling Stones. Their tour just wrapped up at the end of 2019, so I don't see how this makes any sense with their current touring schedule. If they add more shows, then maybe we'll revisit, but that was like a 3 year tour, that included a health scare for Jagger, so I don't see it. Nope.
[EDIT] There was some excitement last week, as a big Rolling Stones-themed mural was painted on the side of the old Le Bare at Congress and Riverside, so people were curious if that meant an appearance at ACL, or a stand-alone concert. It's now been announced that it is a stand-alone concert, Memorial Day Weekend, at Circuit of the Americas. So yeah, they won't be coming back for ACL.
Kiss. Nah, they play Austin on October 1, so there is no reason for them to bring their show to ACL. (which is good news in my opinion)
Madonna. Every year, I hope that my research will lead me to believing that she'll be here. Every year, I find nothing to lead me to believe. This year is no different. She's playing a bunch of shows at the London Palladium, then a bunch at a place in Paris called the Grand Rex, but then is done by March 11. No reason to expect an ACL appearance. Sadly. No.
Aerosmith. Man, I loved me some Aerosmith back in the day. "Back in the Saddle" used to get me all sorts of riled up. They went off the rails in the mid-90's, but their stable of hits is unquestionable. The interesting thing is that they played the Grammys last night, and seem to have a little more interest and noise around them right now. They continue to have a Las Vegas residency going on, with multiple dates per week at the MGM, but then in June the shoot off to Europe for some shows and festivals. Those dates end on July 27, before a Sept. 18 show at Fenway Park. Which means they could fit Lolla Chicago (7/30 to 8/2) and ACL (early October) into their plans pretty easily. This would stay in line with some of the recent old guy headliners - feels pretty good to me. Yes.
The Cure. No. They just played here.
George Strait. I mean, this is just wishful thinking. He wouldn't get the same reception as anyone else on this list - even if he is the MAN with regard to modern country music. He purportedly retired a few years ago, but his touring page shows a handful of shows this year. None conflict with ACL dates, so this is theoretically possible. I don't buy it. No.
Billy Joel. In my opinion, he's not nearly the draw that Elton or Fleetwood or most of these old bands are, but at the same time, singing "Piano Man" and "Captain Jack" at the top of my lungs with 70,000 other people would be pretty sweet. Huh. His current tour has a gap between July 10 and August 15, leaving him time for Lolla, and then ends on Sept. 11, so his schedule has time for both of those. My instinct, just based on how popular I think he'd be with the young folks, it that this one wouldn't happen. But it would also fall in line with some of the nostalgia action we've had recently. Still going to go with my gut and say no.
Ozzy Ozbourne. He's just recently announced a Parkinson's diagnosis, so I don't see any way that he would keep touring. But his website shows more tour dates starting up in May. There is an ACL sized gap from July 31 to October 23, but I hope, for his sake, that is just a space for him to rest and relax. It honestly bums me out that he is still touring. No.
Bob Seger. He just finished his purported last tour ever, so I'm just going to go with No.
Queen + Adam Lambert. I think they missed out on this last year - after the biopic and awards season lavishing the movie with praise - it felt like the right time. But this year I wouldn't say the buzz would be as hot, and their tour is all European, Japanese, and Australia dates before it peters out in June. I see no reason for them to come to ACL. No.
The Who. I just read an article/interview about the Who and their current tour, and it bummed me out. Reading about bandmates who detest each other, and Townshend being glad that two of his old school bandmates have died, was not my favorite rock and roll story. Their tour brought them through Dallas for a non-sold out show last year, and they'll be swinging back through in April (with another date in Houston also in April), and then it looks like they head to Vegas for six shows at Caesars. All done by May. They're playing Jazz Fest, but no other big festivals on the docket. I think that makes this one unlikely, so I'll say no.
Bob Dylan. Appears to be on his neverending tour for all time, but this year just has all April dates in Japan, and then nothing else. I guess I'll go with a no.
The Eagles. The tour is still plugging along, with five upcoming shows in Texas (2/29 to 3/17, three in Dallas and two in Houston), and ending with two at Wembley at the end of August. So again, they could have the time to do it, but would they? I still hold that The Big Lebowski killed their ability to grab the Gen X and Millennial generations. So even though this one looks technically possible, I'm going to go with no.
AC/DC. No tour dates currently announced, but they've recently said that there will be a new album this year and a tour following - although this article says "a tour of the band's native Australia," which would obviously not include Austin, Texas. Until I hear more about the tour being bigger than just down under, no.
Bon Jovi. I can't decide if this would excite me or not. On the one hand, singing a lot to several of those big, classic hits would be highly enjoyable. "Livin' on a Prayer" or "You Give Love a Bad Name" or "Bad Medicine" or whatever - that would be a good time. But I'm not sure I could see that for a full two hours from this band. As of now, they have a short tour going on that includes June stops in San Antonio and Dallas, and then ends at the end of July. So, they could ostensibly show up at both Lolla and ACL. And I think they'd sell some nostalgia tickets. But until they announce something else, like more tour dates or any festival dates (nothing on this tour appears to be a Fest), then I'm not so sure. Maybe.
Dixie Chicks. Are they broken up? They certainly seemed that way years ago. I get to see them play in about a week, with Gary Clark Jr., and I'm pumped. But beyond that, there are exactly zero tour dates on their calendar. Like I said in my All Protest lineup prediction, they'd make great sense for the Fest, but without more information, I see no reason to guess this is true. No.
Neil Young. Of all the people on this list, this is one of the few who continues to put out new music. I'm not in love with it or anything, but at least its new music. I see no touring dates on his calendar, so no reason to think this one is happening, as of now. No.
The Beach Boys. They're playing Jazz Fest, and are on a pretty full tour, but they play Austin at the Bass Concert Hall in April (with tickets still available as of late January), so that doesn't smell like a solid choice. Their current tour ends in August, so they'd have the time and space, but I'm not feeling it. No.
Neil Diamond. Not touring, so I'll go with a No. But I could see people getting pumped up to sing along with the hits.
ZZ Top. They're on tour, although I wouldn't put them on the top line of the ACL poster even if they came. They are playing the Whitewater in New Braunfels in June though, so it doesn't seem like they would need to come back to the Austin area so quickly right afterwards. I think they'd be cool to see, but I don't see this one as a draw or a reasonable guess. Will go with no.
Loads of others I suppose I could look at, but I don't see a ton of point. CSNY? Oasis? The Police? The Kinks? Led Zeppelin? Nirvana? White Stripes? Talking Heads? Pink Floyd? Creedence? Rush? Uh, like, Genesis? I think we all know those guys aren't getting back together for a slot at ACL. Important members died, or they all hate each other, or whatever. Who knows - maybe they'll prove me wrong and score a massive Pink Floyd reunion gig, but I doubt it very much.
And I know I'm super copping out with the maybe answers, but we are so early in the year that nothing is published for a lot of these tours past the summer. Once we get a few months closer, we'll see if any new news would help discern who its gonna be. In order of likelihood for them actually being on the poster, here are the three that pass on from this post:
- Rage Against the Machine
- Aerosmith
- Bon Jovi
- Stevie Nicks
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