Mark your calendars, the sixth installment of the Outside Lands Music Festival has been scheduled for the second weekend in August (the 9th through the 11th) and will accommodate 75,000 festival attendees, a 10,000 person increase from last year. In addition to this, Another Planet Entertainment, the organizers behind the event, were rumored to be in talks with the city of San Francisco regarding extending their contract so that Outside Lands will be guaranteed a place at Golden Gate Park through 2021. While this is all exciting news for Bay Area music fans, the most important announcement of all will not be made until April, namely, who will be performing this year. At this point, all we can do is speculate as to who will be making an appearance.

Based on scheduled performances at other music festivals, recent and impending album releases, and existing touring schedules, here’s a list of bands we may be able to look forward seeing in the Bay this upcoming summer.

Who? The Postal Service
Why? Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard’s side project, The Postal Service, released their first, and only, album, Give Up, in 2003. Ten years later, the band is reuniting and going on tour again – they are slated to perform at both Sasquatch and Coachella. Although many music festivals seem to be following a trend of booking veteran performers as their headliners – see last year’s Outside Lands lineup featuring Stevie Wonder, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and Metallica, or this year’s Coachella lineup including The Stone Rose and Blur – don’t discount The Postal Service as a possible headliner at Outside Lands.

Who? Vampire Weekend
Why? Vampire Weekend’s third album, Modern Vampires of the City, will be released on May 6th, and the band is preparing to go on tour in order to promote their new work. They have also already been announced as part of the lineups for Sasquatch and Coachella.

Who? The Lumineers
Why? The Lumineers have joined the ranks of indie bands like Fun. and Mumford and Sons who have managed to infiltrate mainstream music. Their rising popularity gained them nods at this year’s Grammy’s and bookings at both Coachella and Sasquatch. The Lumineers performed at Golden Gate Park in October for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in October, so keep your fingers crossed that the band ventures back to the Bay in August.

Who? Alt-J
Why? Alt-J released their debut album, An Awesome Wave, in September after working on it for 5 years. The album is innovative and while there is certainly cohesion, no two tracks sound the same. An Awesome Wave went Top 20 in the UK, and the band won the Mercury Prize for best album from the UK and Ireland. In addition to this, BBC Radio 6 Music named the album 2012’s Album of the Year. Alt-J has begun to invade US radio waves and will be featured at both Coachella and Sasquatch in the months to come.

Who? The xx
Why? Like the other bands mentioned thus far, The xx has been tapped to perform at both Coachella and Sasquatch. They recently headlined Treasure Island Music Festival, which is also organized by Another Planet Entertainment. The xx is still promoting their most recent album, Coexist, which was released in September.

Who? Phoenix
Why? Phoenix has been chosen as a Coachella headliner and their new album, Bankrupt!, will be released the week of April 22nd. A quick scan of their upcoming tour scheduled shows that the band doesn’t have any preexisting commitments for the weekend of August 9th-11th, perhaps indicating that they will be present at Outside Lands.

Grizzly Bear, Band of Horses, Tegan and Sara, Dropkick Murphys, and The Killers have all recently released new albums, making them possible contenders for Outside Lands performances as well.

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