As summer draws to a close, music fans across the country are preparing for their annual end-of-season pilgrimage to the picturesque grounds of Stradbally Hall for the Electric Picnic festival. Since it’s inception in 2004, the three-day weekender has become the must-attend event of the summer music calendar.
While some of the world’s biggest music acts adorn the festival's headline sets, it is on the stages hidden within the woodlands of the festival site where music fans are most likely to discover some exciting new artists. It is on these stages and at these shows that music fans recount that moment of ‘I was there’ when years later they are entering an arena to see those artists play to thousands of people.
This year, Three Ireland have announced that they are bringing a new Made by Music stage to the festival. In line with their successful Made by Music initiative, the lineup for the new stage offers a diverse mix of both international and homegrown acts. For some it may the first- and only-time fans will have the opportunity to see these stars of the future play in such an intimate setting, the next time their name graces a festival poster it shall be on a higher billing.
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One of the highlights of the Three's Made by Music stage lineup comes on Saturday night at 22.30 from the six Irish musicians who have teamed up with the brand as part of their Made By Music initiative. David Kitt, Elaine Mai, Fehdah, Kean Kavanagh, Sorcha Richardson and Soulé will combine their collective talents for a collaborative performance which will include live festival debuts of their recently released collaboration singles, “Follow the Sound” and “Butterflies”.
Now into its second year, Three’s Made by Music initiative has brought the six musicians together to write, record and release the two brand new collaborative songs, contributing to the Irish music industry and helping the next generation of Irish music stars reach a wider audience.
The first song released saw renowned songwriter and producer David Kitt, singer-songwriter Kean Kavanagh, and future-afro soul vocalist Fehdah team up for the hypnotic summer anthem, "Follow the Sound". The second, and latest, collaboration brings together three of Ireland’s best female talent, in pop star Soulé, electro producer Elaine Mai, and singer-songwriter Sorcha Richardson, for the pop smash hit, “Butterflies”.
The songs are proving a huge hit with music fans with both receiving widespread support on the airwaves of national and local radio stations and picking up over 150,000 streams on Spotify alone. The music videos, created specially by Three for the songs, have also proved popular with collective figures of over 830,000 viewers since the initiative launched in late June.
As well as the collaboration performance, festival fans can enjoy sets from international acts such electro pop star Shura, who’s latest release "forevher" has received rave reviews from fans and music critics. Indie pioneers Sports Team and experimental pop duo Let’s Eat Grandma are two other bands who can certainly be categorized as one’s to watch.
One of the strengths of Three’s Made By Music initiative is how they have combined a collection of different sounds into these unique collaborations. Ireland is currently spoilt for choice with the diversity of its music scene, and for those wanting to explore in search of a unique sound across the weekend, Three’s Made By Music stage could provide just the answer; from rap by rising hip-hop star Jyellowl, acoustic trad-metal fusion from The Scratch, Dundalk trip hop band Just Mustard, poetry and music from Sinead O’Brien, or the genre defying PowPig.
Three’s Made by Music stage is set to be a festival favourite for the music fans looking to discover something new and be the first to uncover what could be an electric headliner of the future.
Three's Made by Music stage lineup for the weekend:
Friday:
18.00 – 18.30: Curtis Walsh
18.55 – 19.35: Alex Gough
20.05 – 20.45: Sports Team
21.15 – 22.00: Serpentwithfeet
22.30 – 23.15: Shura
Saturday:
13.30 – 14.00: Uly
14.30 – 15.00: Rob De Boer
15.30 – 16.00: Somebody’s Child
16.30 – 17.15: Working Men’s Club
17.45 – 18.25: Just Mustard
18.50 – 19.30: The Scratch
20.00 – 20.45: White Reaper
21.15 – 22.00: Easy Life
22.30 – 23.15: Three ‘Made by Music’ collaborations
23.45 – 00.30: Jyellowl
Sunday:
14.00 – 14.30: Sinead O’Brien
15.00 – 15.30: Yonaka
16.00 – 16.40: PowPig
17.00 – 17.40: Heavy Lungs
18.00 – 18.45: Cassia
19.15 – 20.00: Georgia
20.30 – 21.15: Let’s Eat Grandma
21.45 – 22.30: Ider
23.00 – 23.45: Kero Kero Bonito
Three’s Made By Music stage will feature a full lineup of exciting new Irish and international acts across the Electric Picnic weekend. Explore the best new music at the newest addition to Ireland’s biggest festival. "Butterflies" and "Follow the Sound" are available to stream across all regular streaming platforms. Join the conversation on social at #MadeByMusic