ALL GUESTS invited to the Electric Picnic launch yesterday were given tuxedo jackets to wear and mojitos to drink while Trinity Orchestra tuned up on the grounds of the estate.
Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday morning.
Headline acts at the Stradbally Hall estate this weekend include The Cure, Hot Chip, Sigur Rós, The XX, Christy Moore, The Killers, Elbow and Orbital. The festival is expected to attract a crowd of 25,000.
The camp will open at 9am on Friday, and concert-goers are advised to get there early to avoid traffic and to pitch their tents. Festival organisers have recommended car pooling to cut down on traffic surrounding the Electric Picnic site.
The MindField and Body and Soul sections feature again this year at the festival, while a new area – Trailer Park – features a theatrical enclosure celebrating the mobile home and the American “front porch” tradition.
Reggae village Trenchtown will give revellers a taste of Jamaica as it marks 50 years of independence.
The festival will have 40 comedians over two stages as part of “Stradbelly Laughs”. A limited number of weekend tickets are available; day tickets for Sunday only are €99.50. The Theatre of Food returns featuring cookery demonstrations and wine tasting with some of the country’s top chefs including Derry Clarke.
Lord and master of the Stradbally estate Thomas Cosby said the act he was most looking forward to was The Cure. He said this year’s Electric Picnic would not be the last.
“We try to keep people out of the house and gardens although we’ve had a few invasions over the years. The Pet Shop Boys were probably one of my favourite acts to have performed here.”
Karen Cowley, one of the main singers with Trinity Orchestra, said they were looking forward to performing Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety at the weekend.
“It’s one of the best albums of all time. It’s very theatrical and chilling when we perform it. It creates a great atmosphere.”
Fellow singer with the orchestra Andrew Hozier said: “There’s a great energy on stage with the orchestra, so audiences should really enjoy it. We will have a few surprises this weekend when we perform.”
The Strypes are a four-piece band from Cavan, all aged under 16. Think a mini version of The Beatles with a distinctive Cavan accent and 1960s suits. They will play three gigs at the weekend, and will open on the Body and Soul stage. Lead singer Ross Farrelly said he was back to school on Thursday and the band was trying to balance school life with their burgeoning music career. “I probably shouldn’t say this but music comes first. This is going to be the biggest audience we’ve ever played to so we can’t wait to perform.”
Hugo Jellet is manager of the new Trailer Park stage. “The stage is made of three mobile homes, with one mobile home stacked on top of two others,” he said. “The audience will see bands playing in the living room, kitchen or bedroom and we will take off the roof to reveal the different rooms.”
Deirdre Crookes, PR for Electric Picnic, said: “This is the ninth year of the event and we never had any major trouble. We have met gardaí and liaised with them to ensure that it’s a safe event.
“It’s a family orientated festival and our family camping tickets have already sold out. People feel safe here and are happy to bring their children and stroll around the campsite.
“We have a Soul Kids area this year which features face painting and puppetry, giant chess and plenty of fun activities.”