Outside Lands lineup: Here’s who we predict will headline the festival in 2018

It’s time to play the guessing game.

And the topic is a longtime favorite of Bay Area music fans:

What acts will headline the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival?

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Of course, we won’t know the answer to that question until the lineup is officially released, likely in the next month or so. (Last year’s card was announced on April 4.)

In the meantime, however, we’ll just fun playing the game.

Here’s a look at some of the possible headliners for the 2018 festival, which runs Aug. 10-12 in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

We’ll start with the surest bets and work our way down to the long shots.

For more information, visit www.sfoutsidelands.com.

The Weeknd

Likelihood: 65 percent

Previous OSL appearance: None

The R&B crooner is one of the three headliners – along with Coachella and Beyonce – at the big Coachella festival in Southern California. He’s also headlining the Panorama event in New York City, along with The Killers and Janet Jackson. And he’s phenomenally popular in the Bay Area. So, our call is that The Weeknd will spend a portion of the weekend of Aug. 10-12 in Golden Gate Park.

Eminem

Likelihood: 60 percent

Previous OSL appearance: None

The real Slim Shady is hitting the festival trail – big time – in 2018, with headlining slots at Coachella, Boston Calling, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Firefly. We’d absolutely love to see him add Outside Lands to the mix as well, but there are seemingly some roadblocks to it happening. First, it’s unclear whether Em plans to tour that late in the year. (None of his other U.S. dates fall after mid-June at this point.) Second, Outside Lands takes pride in booking headliners that aren’t playing many other festival gigs. But it’s hard to believe that promoters wouldn’t make an exception in the case of Eminem.

Radiohead

Likelihood: 50 percent

Previous OSL appearances: 2008, 2016

Radiohead is a festival favorite, having headlined twice during the first nine years of Outside Lands. Would promoters really bring back Radiohead for a third time – and just two years after the band last played in 2016? Well, it would be hard not to if indeed Radiohead is willing. A good rule of thumb is never say no to one of the greatest bands of all time. Radiohead currently has North American dates, in the Midwest and Northeast, scheduled through Aug. 3. That makes an early August swing along the West Coast – and a stop at Outside Lands – very feasible.

Pearl Jam

Likelihood: 35 percent

Previous Outside Lands (OSL) appearance: 2009

The grunge-rock titans skipped over the West Coast on their 2016 North American Tour and haven’t played a full-length gig in the Bay Area since November 2013 in Oakland. So, fans would really be excited to see Eddie Vedder and company make their long-awaited return to Outside Lands this year. It once seemed highly likely that it could happen, given a touring schedule that has the group in Seattle on Aug. 8 and 10 and then no dates listed until Aug. 13 in Missoula, Montana. But our sources now say that’s it’s not going to happen. Still we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

Travis Scott

Likelihood: 30 percent

Previous OSL appearance: None

The Houston hip-hop star is one of the genre’s hottest artists, having scored back-to-back platinum albums with 2015’s “Rodeo” and 2016’s “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight.” He seems well positioned to reach even greater heights with his third studio album, “AstroWorld,” which is due out in June. Scott is headlining Governors Ball in New York and could fill the same role at Outside Lands, although he may have other things on his mind, having recently welcomed a daughter with Kylie Jenner.

Fleetwood Mac

Likelihood: 25 percent

Previous OSL appearance: None

In an interview with this publication last fall, Christine McVie said that her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act planned to regroup come spring time to start rehearsing for the next Fleetwood Mac trek. Is it too ambitious to think that the group could be ready in time to headline Outside Lands? Maybe. How long does it take to remember how to play “Landslide”?

Santana

Likelihood: 25 percent

Previous OSL appearance: Never? Really?

As mentioned earlier, the Outside Lands crew likes to think outside the box and book acts that might not be playing other festivals. And that seems especially true when it comes to booking the headliner for Day Three (Sunday), which usually is some type of classic rock artist or other kind of long-established act. Santana, as a first-tier Bay Area music legend, would make a lot of sense to fill this role in 2018.

Green Day

Likelihood: 20 percent

Previous OSL appearance: None

People have been predicting that Green Day would headline Outside Lands for, well, basically as long as there has been an Outside Lands. We really thought it might happen last year, but we were wrong on that for like the 10th consecutive year. The East Bay act will eventually play the festival, I have to believe, but 2018 just seems too soon after the band just headlined its own huge Oakland Coliseum concert in August.

Phil Collins

Likelihood: 15 percent

Previous OSL appearance: None

He’s yet to announce any North American dates, but one has to believe they are coming soon. And it’s certainly feasible that Outside Lands could be on the list. Collins, who has as many detractors as he does fans, would be a good fit for the classic-rock Sunday slot.

Bjork

Likelihood: 3 percent

Previous OSL appearance: None

OK, this is probably just wishful thinking on my part. But it’s hard to think of another act – outside of a highly unlikely R.E.M., Black Sabbath or Roxy Music reunion – that I’d rather see at Outside Lands than this legendary artist. And she does have a new album out, so maybe it’s not out of the question? (Fingers crossed.)