Bluesfest is known for throwing some spanners in the works of its massive lineups, well outside the realms of anything you’d call ‘blues’, and if a not-so-subtle hint from festival Director Peter Noble is anything to go by, one of next year’s headliners could just be none other than Jay-Z.

As The Music Network reports, a newsletter was sent out to subscribers that contained a choice quote from Noble that seems to point directly at the festival having secured one of the biggest names in the rap game for 2018.

“It is always a big moment when the first headliner confirms for the upcoming Bluesfest,” Noble says. “We had that wonderful moment occur last week, when a top line headliner confirmed for Bluesfest 2018.

“He is a beauty and it will be an absolute pleasure to bring him to Bluesfest. That only leaves around 99 artists to go.”

Now, maybe they’re just looking to book a hundred acts, but that does feel like an awful lot even for something the size of Bluesfest. Between the fact that we’re looking at a male solo artist of “top line headliner” status, and the appearance of acts like Kendrick Lamar and Nas in recent years, we fully expect to see Hove on that Byron Bay stage next year.

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