Official ACL 2022 Lineup Speculation!

Welcome to the Official r/aclfestival 2022 Lineup Speculation Thread!

Last update: May 9th @ 1:15am EST

And…WE’RE BACK!!! I am now on year SIX of doing this speculation thread and I'm proud to keep this train rolling. This will be our subreddit's ongoing hub of all things rumors, predictions, who’s in/who’s out, etc until we get the lineup. Also, slightly new format & categories this year in an attempt to make this more digestible as possible!

Quick notes on my process:

While we’ve been able to traditionally track musicians via years of understanding patterns and trends, COVID and an ever-changing festival landscape have thrown a wrench in our prior assumptions. That said, we will do our best!
I am assuming acts that play in Central Texas before May to be in play. There is precedence (albeit a limited one) for acts to play in May and still make it on the bill but 99% of the time, if they play May or later, they are out for ACL.
I will not include any acts that played ACL in the past two years (2019 or 2021). While I know there are some very limited cases of artists playing twice in a three-year span (a la Billie Eilish or Meg Thee Stallion last year), it would be overkill to track over 300+ acts when 99% of them are out. Only in very obvious cases will I track a 2019 or 2021 act.
I will use my discretion to determine the validity of a source/rumor. Sorry in advance if you disagree.

Lastly, if you have any updates you’d like to be reflected, feel free to comment below or DM me.

Confirmed

Official confirmation directly from ACL, the artist, or any other related entity

GOTH BABE: Confirmed during an IG Live he hosted on 5/2. Was slated to play ACL 2021 but had to back out due to health issues.
IBEYI: Confirmed via tour dates on Instagram that show ACL Fest on Sunday, 10/9. Note that a W2 date in nonexistent, likely meaning they are a W1 exclusive. LINK HERE
WAR ON DRUGS: Confirmed via a trusted source, who also confirmed an ACL TV taping on the Sunday of W2. Tour dates show obvious ACL-size gaps as well (playing in Florida on Thursday October 6th and then is off until a Tuesday October 11th show in San Diego).

Expected

Strong evidence to suggest they’ll play, including obvious tour gaps and any reputable leaks

Arlo Parks: Obvious tour dates with no Austin date past April, a W1-size gap between Arizona & New Orleans, and no US dates after a 10/12 show in Atlanta. Playing Coachella and a slew of European festivals.
Asleep At The Wheel: They play every year. Next!
Barton Hills Choir: Duh! Although not 100% duh because they oddly were not on the lineup last year (likely a COVID thing, so I feel good about their ACL chances in 2022)
Billy Strings: Fall tour announcement had four days blocked out, including both Fridays of ACL, between California & OKC shows. Also playing a bunch of festivals.
Cassandra Jenkins: Tour skips Texas entirely and has a W1-sized gap between a 10/5 date in New Mexico and a 10/10 date in Oklahoma. Dates conflict for W2 so she would be a W1-exclusive.
Flume: Playing Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Gov Ball, in addition to being semi-confirmed for III Points one week after ACL. Tour runs into September and skips Texas entirely. Also rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite's (who has a small track-record of accurate leaks) teaser from 5/5.
Kevin Morby: His fall tour has a gap that perfectly aligns with W1, as he has a five-day break between a Tuesday set in Santa Fe, NM and a Monday set in Oklahoma City. While he has a conflict during W2, a W1 set looks likely since he has zero Texas dates on the calendar.
Lil Nas X: Tour skips Texas and has an ACL-sized gap between Miami & LA dates from the Wednesday before W1 to the Monday after W2. Rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite's (who has a small track-record of accurate leaks) teaser from 5/5.
Maren Morris: Tour is off from late-September thru W1; then she has a 6-day gap from an LA show to a Colorado show that overlaps perfectly with W1. Tour skips Austin (outside of a primarily TV-focus iHeartRadio Country Fest well before lineup drops). Also playing Coachella and Hangout Fest.
MUNA: Tour skips Austin & plays two Texas dates between ACL weekends; Would have a 3-day gap directly over W1 between Kansas City & Houston dates and a 5-day gap directly over W2 between Dallas & Colorado dates.
Phoenix: Rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite. No Texas dates, ACL-sized gap & playing C3's new Format Fest in Arkansas in late September.
Polo & Pan: Tour has two Mexico dates directly between W1 & W2, a historical sign of playing ACL. They also skip Texas, play a ton of major festivals, and has dates post-W2.
Rosalia: Tour has both Saturday & Sunday of W2 between a Dallas & Atlanta date. Confirmed to headliner III Points in Miami the week after W2. While she does have the Sunday of W1 free, it is likely she is just a W2 exclusive since W1 would require her to play four straight days from LA to Houston.
Wallows: Despite two Stubbs dates in mid-May, tour gap for both weekends; El Paso to New Orleans from 10/4-9 and ends in Oklahoma City on 10/13.
Wet Leg: Tour stops at all the major fall festivals (Lolla, Outside Lands, LIB, TANP, Oshega, and many smaller fests), skips Texas, and has Fri & Sat of W1 free in addition to nothing after 10/12. So while logistically W1 might be a stretch (two days off between two west coast dates), W2 appears to be a lock.
Whiskey Myers: Credible tip suggests they will play ACL. The Texas band skips major Texas markets on their spring tour. Also playing Bonnaroo.

Rumored

Speculation from creditable sources. Note: take this category with a HUGE grain of salt (I’ll do my best to vet rumors, but at the end of the day, they’re still just rumors after all)

The Chicks: Rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite's (who has a small track-record of accurate leaks) teaser from 5/5. Tour skips Texas and they're also subheadlining Bonnaroo.
Kacey Musgraves: Rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite's (who has a small track-record of accurate leaks) teaser from 5/5. While she did play ACL in 2019, her fame & status has only grown and could be due to a sooner-than-expected return to ACL. Also headlining C3's Lolla international festivals.
Paramore: Rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite's (who has a small track-record of accurate leaks) teaser from 5/5. Headlining When We Were Young festival in late-October; rumored to be playing more dates this year.
Pink: Rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite's (who has a small track-record of accurate leaks) teaser from 5/5. Also headlining BottleRock.
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Rumored to as in by u/the_angry_austinite's (who has a small track-record of accurate leaks) teaser from 5/5. They're stadium tour ends in Dallas a month before ACL, it's only Texas stop. Played Jazz Fest as a fill-in for Foo Fighters. Playing Louder Than Life fest after their stadium tour ends and two weeks before W1. ACL has booked RHCP multiple times to headline, most recently in 2017.

Logical

Not enough evidence to mark as Expected but enough to raise interest beyond Possible; would make sense to see them on the lineup but one could make a plausible case either way

Aerosmith: Vegas residency begins a month-long gap starting October 5th, just in time for ACL. While they only have one non-Vegas date announced (playing in their hometown Fenway Park), they have a small history of headlining major festivals and would be a shoo-in for the #1 spot at ACL, similar to Guns N Roses in 2019.
Arcade Fire: Former ACL royalty has a month-long gap between European tour (ending 10/1) and start of North American tour (starting 10/28), which skips Texas entirely. Also headlining Oshega as a fill-in for Foo Fighters.
Arctic Monkeys: Headlining Primavera Sound LA & Life-Is-Beautiful before ACL and then plays South American festivals in November.
Avril Lavigne: Opening for Machine Gun Kelly's tour with the notable exception of Austin (and other Texas) dates. Playing other festivals like Boston Calling & Firefly. Has a month-long gap over ACL dates.
Beach House: No Texas dates, ACL-sized gap & playing C3's new Format Fest in Arkansas in late September
Bomba Estéreo: North American tour skips Texas, hits some smaller festivals, and ends with a Mexico City date on 10/6, a day before W1.
Briston Maroney: Tour skips Austin, plays a ton of festivals, and is currently playing into early October. While he is playing in July in New Braunfels, it is an opening set for Rainbow Kitten Surprise, which shouldn't cause many issues with the radius clause.
Doobie Brothers: 50th-anniversary tour plays in Dallas on the Friday of W1 (10/7), has Sat & Sun off, and only has a Nashville date between W1 & W2.
Dua Lipa: Headlining Lolla and Firefly two weeks before ACL. Her spring arena tour skips Austin (but does stop in Dallas & Houston in March). Also wraps a small South American tour in Mexico three weeks before ACL.
Earth Wind & Fire: Tour hits multiple Texas markets (Dallas, Houston & Corpus Christi) but skips Austin. Has a gap from a 10/5 date in Tennessee before 10/26 start to a mini-Vegas residency.
Fatboy Slim: No Texas dates, ACL-sized gap & playing C3's new Format Fest in Arkansas in late September
Gaslight Anthem: Tour skips Texas and ends in Washington DC on 10/5.
Halsey: Headlining Firefly two weeks before ACL. Also headlining Hangout & Gov Ball. Summer tour only hits Dallas.
Houndmouth: Tour skips Texas and ends in the northeast right before W1.
J. Cole: Headlining Lolla, Bonaroo & Gov Ball
Japanese Breakfast: Playing just about every festival under the sun, from Coachella, Roo, Gov Ball and Boston Calling to smaller, local festivals in tertiary markets. Recently moved her European tour until just after ACL, starting 10/20. Has one central Texas date in March, Willie Nelson's Luck Reunion, but it shouldn't affect a radius clause.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: No Austin dates on tour and gaps during ACL. However, it should be noted they appear more likely for Austin's Levitation Festival
Lorde: Headlining Primavera Sound LA & Life-Is-Beautiful before ACL and then plays South American festivals in November.
Nine Inch Nails: Headlining Shaky Knees & Primavera Sound LA. Will have a small tour in September that ends in Ohio two weeks before ACL. In the past, we've usually shared one headliner with Shaky Knees, albeit usually a Honda closer (ie billed 4-7 range). Considering Green Day plays F1 and is therefor out, plus MMJ looks to be out as well, NIN looks to be a strong possibility.
Nova Amor: This is a situation where an act looks logical despite likely being out...tour has conflicting dates during W1, but has Sunday of W2 open after Houston & Dallas dates Friday & Saturday; however, given that playing ACL would mean seven straight days of shows from Houston to LA, Nova's odds are likely very slim.
Pearl Jam: Their rescheduled 2020 tour skips Texas and ends in Denver in late-September. There are also rumors of another Pearl Jam set at Eddie Vedder's Ohana fest in SoCol one week prior to ACL. Also headlining C3's Lolla European festivals in addition to another possible Lolla Chicago set.
Stevie Nicks: 2021 headliner that dropped due to COVID; has been confirmed to headline Sea.Hear.Now fest (put on by C3 in September), Bonnaroo & others. It should be noted that she was on BottleRock & Shaky Knees 2021's lineups but not on their 2022 lineups, so it is not a guarantee she plays ACL.
Stromae: North American tour starts 10/21 and skips Texas; also playing a bunch of European festivals
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Mini tour ends in LA on 10/6, right before W1. Also playing Oshega & Primavera Sound.

Possible

Reason to believe they could be in play but nothing to suggest they have particularly strong odds

A$AP Rocky: Headlining C3's Lolla international festivals
Calvin Harris: Headlining Life-Is-Beautiful & was slated to subheadline Coachella 2020.
Disclosure: Playing Coachella & Bonaroo
Glass Animals: Playing C3's Lolla international festivals and subheadlining Buku
Imagine Dragons: Headlining C3's Lolla international festivals
Isaiah Rashad: Playing Coachella, Bonaroo & This Ain't No Picnic Festival
Jamie xx: Playing Coachella, Firefly and a bunch of European festivals this year. Also playing a fest dates in late-September in the northeast.
Kendrick Lamar: Playing Rolling Loud and Glastonbury
LCD Soundsystem: Headlining This Ain't No Picnic Festival & rumored to be playing III Points the weekend after ACL W2
Lil Baby: Headlining Lolla among other festivals
My Morning Jacket: Headlining Shaky Knees. Has a late-April date in Austin that might rule them out, but per my logic stated above, we will still track as possible.
Phish: Summer tour skips Texas and ends in Colorado in September
Post Malone: Headlining international Lolla's & Hangout. Has never played ACL but has headlined Lolla & Bonnaroo.
Rage Against The Machine: Reunion tour with Run The Jewels skips Texas entirely and Rage was slated to headline multiple festivals in 2020. However, recent pulling out of Coachella & rumors on the tour getting canceled make Rage's odds very low. Also rumored to have not been on the 2020 ACL lineup.
Rezz: Playing C3's international Lolla festivals in addition to Bonnaroo, Buku & Okeechobee
Roddy Ricch: Playing Bonnaroo
Run The Jewels: Playing Coachella. Opening for Rage Against The Machine's tour, which skips Texas, but rumors are the tour may be canceled. Despite RATM pulling out of headlining Coachella, RTJ is still on the lineup.
Slowthai: Playing Coachella, Bonaroo & This Ain't No Picnic Festival
The Smile: Each of Thom Yorke's projects have played ACL in the past 9 years (Atoms For Peace in '13, Radiohead in '16, TYTMB in '19)
The Strokes: Headlining Lolla's international fests and This Ain't No Picnic Festival. Recently headlined C3's Lolla & Shaky Knees.
Tool: Headlining Bonaroo
Twenty One Pilots: Skips Austin on fall tour, which ends a few weeks before ACL. They do have two arena dates in Texas in September so that could eliminate them. Slated to headliner BottleRock & also headlined C3's Lolla in 2019.
Wild Rivers: Playing Bonnaroo & BottleRock

Out

Conflicting tour dates, radius clause, etc.

5 Seconds Of Summer: Playing Moody Amphitheater on 6/24
100 Gecs: Playing Float Fest
Afghan Whigs: Playing Mohawk on 9/28
Aldous Harding: Playing Mohawk on 6/21
AWOLNATION: Conflicting tour dates
Bears Den: Playing Emo's 9/9
Black Keys: Playing Moody Center 10/17
Blackbear: Playing Moody Center on 6/8
Bon Jovi: Playing Moody Center on 4/23
Bonobo: Playing Emo's on 10/5
Brandi Carlie: Playing Moody Amphitheater 7/15
Broken Social Scene: Conflicting tour dates
Cage The Elephant: Playing Float Fest
Car Seat Headrest: Playing Stubbs on 5/4
Chance The Rapper: Playing Float Fest
Chris Stapleton: Conflicting tour dates
Chvrches: Playing Float Fest, but should be noted The What Podcast mentioned on a recent episode that they were playing ACL.
COIN: Playing Stubbs on 8/5
Coldplay: Playing in Brazil during ACL
Dave Matthews Band: Playing Moody Center on 5/11
Deadmau5: Playing Float Fest
Dean Lewis: Playing Emo's on 6/16
Dinosaur Jr.: Playing ACL Live on 9/18
Eagles: Playing Moody Center on 5/29
Eagles Of Death Metal: Playing Ripplefest in Austin in July
Ed Sheeran: Playing F1 a week after ACL
Eli Young Band: Playing Whitewater Amphitheater on 6/17
Elle King: Conflicting tour dates
Elton John: Conflicting your dates despite shows in Texas right before and after ACL
Father John Misty Playing Moody Amphitheater on 8/12
Flaming Lips: Conflicting tour dates (at least for W2)
Flor: Conflicting tour dates
Florence + The Machine: Playing Moody Center on 9/27
Franz Ferdinand: Playing Stubbs on 8/6
Foo Fighters: Conflicting tour dates (west coast during W1)
Fleet Foxes: Playing Moody Amphitheater on 7/3
Green Day: Playing F1 the week after ACL
HAIM: Playing Moody Amphitheater on 5/4
Harry Styles: Playing 5 nights at Moody Center before ACL and is in Chicago during ACL
H.E.R: Playing with Coldplay in Brazil during ACL
Hippie Sabotage: Playing Float Fest
Incubus: Playing COTA on 8/30
Iron Maiden: Playing Moody Center on 9/13
Jack Johnson: Playing COTA on 8/27
Jack White: Playing Moody Center on 5/25
Jewel: Playing COTA on 7/19
John Mayer: Playing Moody Center on 4/20
Jungle: Playing Moody Theater on 9/3
Justin Bieber: Playing Moody Center on 4/27
Kaytranada: Playing Float Fest
Khruangbin: Playing COTA on 9/24
The Kid Laroi: Playing Stubbs on 8/26
King Princess: Playing Stubbs on 7/21
KRAFTWERK: Playing ACL Live on 6/27
LANY: Playing COTA on 8/31
Leon Bridges: Playing Moody Center on 8/6
Little Dragon: Playing Moody Center on 8/6
Lizzo: Playing Moody Center on 10/25
Local Natives: Playings Moody Center on 8/16
Logic: Playing COTA on 8/5
Lord Huron: Playing Float Fest
LP: Playing Stubbs on 5/13
Lumineers: Playing Moody Center 8/20
Mahalia: Playing Antones on 10/6 & was a 2019 act
Marshmello: Playing Float Fest
Matric: Playing Moody Center on 9/30
Metronomy: Conflicting tour dates
Mt Joy: Playing three dates at Stubbs in early November
My Chemical Romance: Conflicting tour dates
Odesza: Playing COTA on 8/19
Olivia Rodrigo: Playing Moody Amphitheater on 5/13
OneRepublic: Playing COTA on 8/25
Pavement: Playing ACL Live on 10/11
Porter Robinson: Playing Camp Nowhere in June
Purity Ring: Playing ACL Live on 7/15
Puscifer: Playing Bass Concert Hall on 6/15
Pusha T: Playing Float Fest
Quinn XCII: Playing Float Fest
Rainbow Kitten Surprise: Playing Whitewater Amphitheater 7/9
REO Speedwagon: Playing COTA on 7/22
Ringo Starr: Conflicting tour dates
Roger Waters: Conflicting tour dates
Roxy Music: Playing Moody Center on 9/21
Royal BLood: Playing Stubbs on 5/12
Shawn Mendes: Playing Moody Center on 10/3
Sigur Ros: Playing two nights at Moody Theater in late-May
Slightly Stoopid: Playing Whitewater in August
Steely Dan: Playing ACL Live on 6/5
Still Woozy: Playing Stubbs on 5/17
Styx: Playing COTA on 7/22
Sublime With Rome: Playing COTA on 8/30
Superorganism: Conflicting tour dates + playing Scoot Inn in October
Swedish House Mafia: Playing Moody Center on 8/25
The Sword: Playing Ripplefest in Austin in July
Taking Back Sunday: Playing COTA 7/30
The Avett Brothers: Playing Whitewater Amphitheater on 5/6
The Killers: Playing Moody Center on 9/9
They Might Be Giants: Playing ACL Live on 5/22
Third Eye Blind: Playing COTA on 7/30
Thundercat: Playing COTA on 9/24
Tove Lo: Playing Float Fest
Train: Playing COTA on 7/19
Turnpike Troubadours: Playing Whitewater after ACL
Vampire Weekend: Playing Float Fest
Voxtrot: Playing Mohawk on 11/15
Wiz Khalifa: Playing COTA on 8/5
Weird Al Yankovic: Playing ACL Live on 9/18
The Who: Playing Moody Center 5/3 + conflicting tour dates
Wolf Alice: Conflicting dates. While they have both Sundays of ACL open, the tour would go for nine shows in just ten days with ACL being very inconvenient stops back-to-back-to-back (Kansas City -> Austin -> Denver for W1 and Portland -> Austin -> San Francisco for W2)
Yves Tumor: Playing with Florence + The Machine at Moody Center on 9/27

Gossip Greg

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