Is JAY-Z the first headliner locked in for Bluesfest 2018?

Is JAY-Z on his way to Bluesfest Byron Bay next year? That’s been the buzz since festival Director Peter Noble sent a newsletter to subscribers indicating he was close to unveiling the first round of acts.

"It is always a big moment when the first headliner confirms for the upcoming Bluesfest," Noble reported. "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." 

This is being taken as a not-so-subtle reference to Hova’s iconic smash hit 99 Problems. The "he", singular, probably rules out the possibility that Noble’s dug up 1980s German singer Nena who had a hit with 99 Red Balloons, or Toto, who hit the charts way back with 99.

JAY-Z (yes, the hyphen’s back, and it’s all-caps now) has had an eventful two weeks, starting off with the birth of his two twins with wife Beyoncé. He also flashed his altruistic side, taking on the bail industry, but to cap it all off, he announced new album 4:44, out at the end of June.

As an exclusive to existing Tidal and (US wireless carrier) Sprint subscribers, it’s bound to re-ignite the ongoing discussion as to whether or not streaming platform exclusives are a good idea, as Spotify plan to introduce tier-based exclusives windows, and windowing pioneer Apple plans to phase them out.

What’s more, the Tidal app has reportedly enjoyed several software updates in the past week, suggesting some serious work is going on behind the scenes.

There’s been more Tidal updates in the past week than in the past year. Hov is fixing some shit.

— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) June 22, 2017