The Splendour In The Grass Line-up Drops Tomorrow - Here's Our Wishlist | theMusic.com.au | Australian music news, gig guide, music reviews

It's bloody unbelievable the Splendour In The Grass line-up announcement is less than 24 hours away — it seems only yesterday that we were wiping the Byron Bay Parklands dust out of our tired eyes. But now is not the time for nostalgia, the almighty list of acts drops tomorrow morning and it is our solemn duty as music lovers to relentlessly guess who's gonna be on it and then brag about the acts that we correctly predicted.

UPDATE: the splendour 2018 line-up is here!!!!

Check out our bets for Splendour In The Grass 2018 below.

highly likely

The wombats

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This one's almost certain after vocalist Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy let slip to triple j that the band would be playing a "very special festival" in Australia in 2018. Even if the trio didn't all but confirm their spot on the list, they'd still be a pretty sure thing. They played Splendour in 2008 following the release of their debut album Let's Dance To Joy Division and in 2015 after they dropped Glitterbug. Taking into consideration the release of 2018's Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, you can expect to see these Aussie-loving boys on tomorrow's list.

probably

arctic monkeys

Alex Turner and co. are making a big comeback in 2018, after their almost five-year hiatus following 2013's AM. If you look closely at their absolutely mammoth tour schedule for the year, you'll find that there's a suspiciously Splendour-shaped hole between their July shows in Spain and New York. Factor in the announcement that their forthcoming album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino will be released on 11 May and it's not a stretch to imagine the Sheffield boys with a spot at the table.

Dirty Projectors

The now-one man band owes Australia a visit after skipping our great nation following his masterful 2017 self-titled album. The first of the predictions that's tipped off by an inclusion on Japan's adjacent Fuji Rock line-up, the musician has also been teasing new music online lately — Australia is a great place to debut new gear.

courtney barnett

After spending a little time out of the spotlight, Barnett has emerged in the last couple months with two wicked singles and a promise of her highly-anticipated second LP Tell Me How You Feel, which drops next month. The Aussie golden girl's humungous US and UK tour wraps up a mere four days before Splendour kicks off, giving her plenty of time to hop a plane and be a ripper local headliner.

chvrches

Another Fuji Rock tip-off, the UK trio get put in the likely pile due to their consistent two-year breaks between visiting out golden shores. Considering their last pop-by was in 2016, in support of their second LP Eyes Wide Open, and their third album Love Is Dead drops at the end of next month, we wouldn't be surprised to be blissing out to Lauren Mayberry's sweet vocals come July.

mgmt

Lead vocalist Andrew VanWyngarden gave The Music a sneaky scoop back in February when he said, "I'm not sure when things are announced. But, yeah, we'll be setting foot on Australian soil this year, for sure." Secretive announcements? — sounds like Splendour to us. The duo have also been riding high off their most recent album, 2017's Me & Michael.

maybe

Kendrick lamar

Kendrick hasn't stopped by since he headlined Byron Bay Bluesfest in 2016 back in the To Pimp A Butterfly days. The crystal ball that is the Fuji Rock line-up pushes the rapper into likely territory as well as him still being in the midst of the DAMN. world tour. Plus, he needs to swing by and accept his praise for topping our most sacred of democratic music countdowns.

lily allen

The British singer is preparing to release No Shame, her first album since 2014's Sheezus, at the beginning of June and her European tour wraps up just under a week out from Splendour. She blew crowds away with a lavish Splendour set back in 2014, time for Lily to make us smile again in 2018.

Jack white

White gets outed by the tell-tale gap in his touring schedule between the end of July and Lollapalooza in August. The rock music troubadour is also fresh off the release of his highly anticipated third solo album Boarding House Reach. No word yet on whether he'll uphold his recent ban of cell phones at his gigs for the Splendy crowd.

eminem

It's true that Slim Shady wraps up his European tour a couple weeks before Splendour and that he's overdue for an Australian tour but the rapper is a rare sight on Aussie festival line-ups, much preferring to sell-out stadiums like he did back in 2014 following Revival. But prove us wrong, Em, prove us wrong.