Predicting ACL 2024: Lollapalooza Lineup Check

As I have mentioned before, this Lolla lineup for 2024 is super not in my wheelhouse.  I'd be deeply disappointed if this came to Austin.

I have already talked for years about the close-knit relationship between these two Festivals.  For many years, I have always thought of Lollapalooza as the sister show to ACL.  They get some things that we just saw last year.  We get some things that they just saw.  We're linked and its fun.  I was very grateful though, that the link between them has been fraying more over the past few years, as their lineup seems to be consistently leaning more towards the pop stuff that I don't want to see.  

I the past, I've spent a lot of time making little charts to show the linkage, but here I'll just give you the facts instead.  The closest were 2012 and 2014, with 7/9 matching at the top of the bills.  2015 was a 6 of 9 year.  2016 was 5 of 9.  2011, 2013, and 2018 were only 4 of 8.  2017 and 2021 only shared 3 of 9.  2022 was a ZERO - a few matches on the poster overall, but none of the headliners.  2023 shared Kendrick Lamar, The 1975, and Odesza for the top line folks, and then a lot of lower-level folks like Revivalists, Maggie Rogers, and Noah Kahan.

Some of the differences come because the two festivals apparently value people differently.  For example, in 2018, Khalid was the #7 artist on the ACL poster, but only #11 on the Lolla poster.  Camilla Cabello was #9 on the ACL poster but was all the way down at #24 on the Lolla poster (which is honestly weird).  Chvches was #13 on ACL, but #15 for Lolla.  Why are all of our bands worse in the eyes of Lolla?  So, you can't solely judge off of the top two lines of the poster, even if those are usually the most exciting things to see.

So, how likely are we to see the top artists on the Lolla poster for this year?  Let's dig in.

• Tyler, The Creator.  Not on tour right now, and he was here in 2021.  So, on the one hand, he is doing the Festivals with Coachella and Lolla on his plate, but then again he isn't doing anything else.  The Internet says he has no music until 2025.  It would not make any sense for him to come back (and I super don't want to see him), so I'm going to lean no.
• Hozier.  Nope.  Was just here!  Great show though.
• Sza.  She was just here in 2022, so that would not make sense to me to have her back.  Her tour ends on Sept. 7, so she has the time, but I just don't see it.  No.
• Stray Kids.  I mean, I super hope not!  A Korean boy band is not what I need at all here.  Their confusing website seems to show they have a show on October 3, but Ticketmaster doesn't show that one.  I am just going to assume that the rest of the world agrees with me that this is not the right band for Austin.  Nah.
• The Killers.  Ugh.  Super hope not for this one too!  Hard to believe the last time they were here was 2017, felt more recent than that.  But I just feel completely uninterested in this show.  They have nothing new or interesting in many years!  Like Mumford coming back again last year, what is the point?  I was absolutely hoping that their touring schedule was going to hook me up so that they would be in Spain in October.  No such luck.  The last date on their calendar is 9/29 in St. Louis, meaning they absolutely have the time and space to show in Austin.  Dammit.  Yes.
• Future x Metro Boomin.  Another that I do not want, but also can begrudgingly say that some of the tracks on the two new albums bang.  They play Houston on 8/22, San Antonio on 8/23, Dallas on 8/24, and then the tour ends on Sept. 9.  They absolutely have the time and space and are avoiding Austin despite many of the big rap tours coming to Moody Center recently.  Yeah.
• Blink 182.  They already came through Austin last summer, and the current leg of the tour hits San Antonio in June.  They end the tour August 30 in the UK.  So, they could easily fit us in and be on the bill.  My instinct is that this is a no for now.
• Melanie Martinez.  I remember watching part of her set a few years back, and absolutely hating every second of it.  Just awful.  Her website doesn't even list Lolla on the tour, so not sure it is complete.  Ticketmaster though shows that she'll be in Austin at the Moody on May 24, so that makes this a relieved nope.
• Skrillex.  Hilarious that this dude is still out there doing this thing.  The last time he came to ACL I saw one of the official aftershows at Stubbs and it was so funny.  Just a pile of frat bros and aggressive amateur bodybuilders angrily pumping their fists to some boring beats.  His tour ends in August, so he has the time.  But he has no new music, and I had sort of forgotten that he even exists.  I guess he's as good of an electro guess as any.  Sure.

Then, the true hell of the Lolla poster is revealed because there ain't shit happening elsewhere on this lineup.  Two Door Cinema Club.  Deftones. Vince Staples. Killer Mike.  WIlderado.  Militarie Gun.   Otherwise is it things I've never heard of or things I know to be actively bad (looking at you Conan Gray and Tate Mcrae and D4VD).  Brutal.

The Killers, Skrillex, and Future - its like we're stuck in 2017, y'all!  Hopefully Pearl Jam is coming and all the rest of this won't truly matter to me anymore...