The first confirmed acts and ticket details for this year's Electric Picnic festival will be announced next Wednesday, March 26th. This year's three-day event will be held from August 29th to 31st in Stradbally, Co Laois.
Two of the acts due to be announced are My Bloody Valentine and seminal Krautrock pioneers Faust, who have listed shows at the Picnic and the Spiegeltent in Cork on June 20th on their MySpace site.
In addition to the list of confirmed acts, particular interest will be paid to the price the Picnic's promoters will charge for a weekend on Thomas Cosby's land - in light of increasing price sensitivity from customers about tickets for shows here.
Earlybird tickets for the festival, priced at €199, sold out when they went on sale late last year.
By way of comparison, there are still tickets on sale for Ireland's other big outdoor festival, Oxegen. All Oxegen's camping tickets sold out after four days on sale, but weekend and one-day non-camping tickets are still available at time of going to press.
While the bulk of Oxegen-goers will camp out, there have always been festivalgoers who avoid the campsites to stay in local guesthouses or travel daily to the Co Kildare venue.
Some industry observers have expressed surprise that all tickets have not been snapped up, pointing out that Oxegen has always sold out quickly in the past. One Irish betting chain even opened a book on how long it would take the first batch of tickets for the festival to sell out this year.
Unlike previous years, a huge number of Oxegen acts were confirmed and publicised in advance. REM, Rage Against the Machine, Kings of Leon, The Verve, Kaiser Chiefs, Stereophonics and Counting Crows had been announced on an almost daily basis in the weeks leading up to tickets going on sale.
While summer 2007 featured more than 70 outdoor shows and festivals, many wonder if the 2008 season will feature fewer shows - and fewer punters.
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White & Co ready to Rac
The Raconteurs have announced that they will release their second album, Consolers of the Lonely, worldwide next Friday, March 28th.
The record was finished in early March, so there will be no hanging around for reviews, internet leaks, marketing meetings or promo tours for Jack White, Brendan Benson and the other two before Consolers of the Lonely hits the shops.
The move is partly reminiscent of Radiohead's In Rainbows campaign last year, although The Raconteurs have not bought into Radiohead's name-your-own-price model.
Of course, there's nothing new about rush-releases like this. It's a common ploy, for example, in the film business, where - usually lousy - movies sometimes go on release without press screenings for critics.
School of rock
Rock Camp may be just the ticket for kids seeking to emulate such teen acts as Tiny Masters 0f Today. At Rock Camp, 11- to 18- year-olds learn about songwriting, recording and performance, as well as how to promote and sell their music, all with the help of experienced instructors.
Camp attendees also have the opportunity to form a band to perform a gig at the end-of-camp concerts.
Rock Camp will be taking place in three different locations around Dublin from late June to early August.
More information and full details on how to apply at www.rockcamp.ie
