Iconic Texan festival, Austin City Limits has revealed their mammoth lineup for this year’s event and if you thought Splendour was good, well this is pretty damn impressive, with over 130 bands confirmed for the Texan event.

The October festival is produced by C3 Presents, who also co-produce Australia’s own Big Day Out; a creative partnership forged between the two after the troubled 2012 turn, with C3 Presents and Big Day Out’s team-up leading to the success of this year’s event, both brand-wise and ticket-sales wise.

Given their connections and the correlation between last year’s lineup and Big Day Out 2013, the new Austin City Limits lineup could be some serious clues for festival speculators. Headlining are electro pioneers Depeche Mode, goth-punk legends The Cure, global powerhouse Muse, and a newly “youthful” Kings of Leon. Joining them on the bill will be Thom Yorke’s supergroup Atoms For Peace, soul crooner Lionel Richie, Coachella-conquering French indie outfit Phoenix, and American music institution, Wilco.

Following in the footsteps of Californian desert bash Coachella, Austin City Limites will this year take place over two weekends, October 4th-6th and 11th-13th, at Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. And with a lineup as epic as this, punters will be thankful for that extra weekend.

Other artists rounding out the spectacular lineup are New York’s Vampire Weekend, the Splendour-bound The National, much-hyped returning rockers Queens of the Stone Age, rapper Kendrick Lamar, and cutting-edge electro act Grimes – just to name just a few (the full lineup can be viewed below). Could the remarkable lineup, courtesy of Austin-based C3 Presents, be a hint of what’s to come for next year’s Big Day Out?

Flying the flag for Australia is busy band-about-town Tame Impala. The psychedelic rockers, currently touring with Groovin’ The Moo, after enjoying plenty of success overseas on the back of their highly acclaimed album Lonerism. 

Their inclusion on the Austin City Limits lineup is just the latest in a string of overseas festivals for the Perth locals. Having performed at Coachella last month, their hectic touring schedule will next head to Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, Germany’s Hurricane Festival, the UK’s legendary Glastonbury, and then Croatia, for a headline slot at Modular’s new island festival, FOR 2013.

Could the remarkable lineup, courtesy of Austin-based C3 Presents, be a hint of what’s to come for next year’s Big Day Out? It might seem inconceivable to start speculating the lineup for a festival that isn’t until January 2014, but promoters will be looking to secure artists now, and given Big Day Out has confirmed an official return to New Zealand after its axing last year, and locking in a new site for the Gold Coast leg, the plotting for a massive 2014 turn has already begun.

The rumour mill is already in overdrive with local festival lineup speculation. The first band on the lineup for Harvest festival has been leaked with Neutral Milk Hotel letting slip that they’d be returning to our shores as part of their reunion tour for the festival. Other bands rumoured to play the November festival are indie outfit Franz Ferdinand who were also announced to be playing Austin City Limits today.

The Scots let slip en route to the Chilean leg of Lollapalooza 2013 that they would be heading to Australia for a headline tour this November. Having recently completed a new studio album, the follow-up to 2009′s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, they debuted new material at Lollapalooza Chile. Meanwhile, The Postal Service have been ruled out for Harvest, with promoter AJ Maddah confirming he was unable to secure the iconic indietronica duo earlier this year.

Speculation has also begun for the 2014 Laneway Festival with organisers revealing the lineup for their stage at the London leg of Field Day, possibly a huge hint at what’s to come at next year’s festival. Laneway co-founder Danny Rogers revealed his excitement about the “crazy amazing bunch of acts” playing the Laneway stage – including Chvrches, Palma Violets, Daughter, Django Django, Kurt Vile and more – “some of whom even pop up on one or more of forthcoming Laneway events around the world soon!” teased Rogers.

We can rule out forthcoming Splendour acts Daughter, Palma Violets, and Chvrches (who are also playing Australian dates in August) from playing Australia’s February festival. But it’s still highly likely that we’ll see similar acts at Laneway’s new American incarnation, which will hit Detroit this September in the festival’s first ever US debut, with the inaugural lineup is set to drop any day now.

Austin City Limits 2013 Lineup

for more details head to http://austincitylimits.com/
Depeche Mode
The Cure
Muse
Kings of Leon
Atoms For Peace
Lionel Richie
Phoenix
Wilco
Vampire Weekend
The National
Eric Church
Passion Pit
Arctic Monkeys
Queens Of The Stone Age
fun.
Kendrick Lamar
Franz Ferdinand
D’Angelo
Kaskade
Tame Impala
Local Natives
The Shouting Matches
Toro Y Moi
Grimes
Portugal. The Man
Silversun Pickups
The Joy Formidable
Neko Case
Divine Fits
Grouplove
Jimmy Eat World
The Black Angels
The Bright Light Social Hour
The Mavericks
Okkervil River
Shuggie Otis
Purity Ring
Dawes
HAIM
Smith Westerns
Junip
WALK THE MOON
Vintage Trouble
Noah and the Whale
Paper Diamond
Lissie
Pinback
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Wild Belle
Phosphorescent
Court Yard Hounds
Thao & the Get Down Stay Down
Foxygen
Little Green Cars
Savages
Autre Ne Veut
Parquet Courts
FIDLAR
White Denim
True Believers
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Delta Rae
Jake Bugg
The Lone Bellow
Electric Guest
Dan Croll
Deap Vally
Wild Nothing
Typhoon
Hundred Waters
Twin Forks
Red Baraat
Electric Six
Shovels & Rope
Reignwolf
Mona
MS MR
Widowspeak
Asleep at the Wheel
Bear Mountain
Greensky Bluegrass
JD Mcpherson
Valerie June
Wild Feathers
Roadkill Ghost Choir
JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound
Desert Noises
The Band Of Heathens
Holly Williams
Alanna Royale
Cherub
The Dynamites feat. Charles Walker
Shinyribs
Jacuzzi Boys
Wick-it The Instigator
Shakey Graves
Houndmouth
Wild Cub
Peterson Brothers Band
Luella and the Sun
X Ambassadors
Sons Of Fathers
Courrier
My Jerusalem
Not In The Face
Dana Falconberry
Bobby Jealousy
Whiskey Shivers
The Preservation
Max Frost
Latasha Lee & The BlackTies
CALEB
Shannon LaBrie
Andrew Duhon
Kristin Diable & The City
Colin Lake
Brooke Waggoner
Tyree Morris & Hearts of Worship
Endurance
The Stapletones
Heavenly Voices Choir
The McCrary Sisters
Disciples of Christ
The Hensley Ensemble
The Durdens
The Warrior Gospel Band
Barton Hills Choir
The Verve Pipe
School of Rock
Tim and the Space Cadets
Peter DiStefano & Tor
Grace London
Playdate
The Ohmies
The Q Brothers
Andy Z
Caspar Babypants

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine