Electric Picnic 2024 **No Ticket Sales / Requests** - Waiting in line, terrible time, over familiar

Lovely flashback to seeing Brian Kerr now it was mentioned!

13th EP year on the trot somehow here.

Missed the Friday this time and wasn't really bothered about it, but Saturday turned out to be a pretty good one

TCM - Wouldn't be the picnic without them

Mary Wallopers - Lead singer was caught in traffic and a few songs late, can't imagine that anxiety! Great set though.

Saw Doctors - Knocked it out of the park, crowd energy was brilliant.

Waterboys - First time seeing them but seasoned pro's really enjoyed this.

The Scratch -Personal weekend highlight, pure mental energy/craic fusion.

Calvin Harris - Overall it was too crowded and was the general consensus from anyone I spoke to. Not gone on DJ's but enjoyable enough.

Finished up on Spike Island with some late trad and plenty of laughs.

Sunday

Stranglers - Really good, will be digging up more of their old stuff after this.

Darnell Cole - 3rd time seeing him here, won't get tired of his behind the back guitar playing

Wolfe Tones - Made an effort to see them given the hype but after 3 songs decided it wasn't for us. Impressive crowd, but felt like we were at longitude given the age profile around us.

Tesky Brothers - Stumbled on these guys, very nice stuff altogether.

The evening kinda fell apart after that as there wasn't anything I was too interested in seeing. I was driving but said I'd hang on to take in Kylie and wished I didn't really. 30 minutes of her was more than enough.

Was wandering through a mini mosh pit Trailer Park and some poor guy either broke his leg or badly dislocated his knee during Post Punk Podge, it wasn't a pretty sight and wasn't interested in a second glance. They were still getting him out of there over half an hour later.

Toilets haven't expanded to meet the crowd and were just a pissy march my Saturday evening for the mens. That said, in the main, lads were using the toilets instead of just anywhere the way it used to be.

Our guess was there must be 100k there including staff etc, I spoke to one of the senior security guys there who thought there must be 120k there but thought it could take it ok. The Croí area is probably under utilized, so there is room to stick more events there I guess.

Sunday's wristband checks were really cranked up, tightened and toggle double checked. People being quizzed if they could prove they bought the tickets themselves. Security said there was a poor counterfeit Performer wristband being presented at the gates that all had the same serial number. A young lad trying to come in beside me on the Sunday was asked why he was coming in the yellow gate with a performer wristband, where did he get it. It didn't take long for him to get defensive and use the "I paid good money for it" line. 😂 Needless to say it was cut off him!

If we stayed away from the main stage area it could be feasible to enjoy future picnics. Perhaps just stick fencing around it, rename it Electric Longitude. That could work, right?!

I don't like seeing all the waste and rubbish left behind but is there a case for the organizers setting a better example themselves?

They're the ones responsible for the overflowing bins everywhere and overflowing urinals. Maybe if they did a bit more themselves it might have a positive knock on effect.

Had a decent week down there, but like others have mentioned it was away too crowded at times. This year I got a production wristband so it meant I was camped inside the festival perimeter, you could see the Electric Arena from my tent. Highlights Nas, Faithless, The Mary Wallopers, Not a big fan of the Saw Doctors but they put on a decent gig, this was my first time catching the Waterboys and they were amazing. Also caught Sophie Ellis Bextor which was probably the most poppiest thing I've saw, but a bit of a disco diva like Jesse Ware enjoyable enough. The Stranglers knocked it out of the park. Paddy Keenan in the Croi stage was great and a bit of Kylie, enjoyable enough but she waffled on a bit too much at times between songs. I finally made it to the Haunt on Sunday night to the sounds of Christine Beeps and enjoyed a bit of the Latchikos on the Croi stage. Will be uploading videos soon and starting the oul blog.

I think the overall fake 'green-ness' of the festival in general could be the root of the issue with BYE.

The ECO site could still be there next year, just run by someone else.

The only way to properly tackle the filth is to divide the campsites into plots and assign a plot to a punter on arrival. But I know this is the stuff of fairytales. FR don't give a damn about the environment or sustainability.

I said I'd give my review. Speaking as a blow in here who qualifies for resident tickets. I've only been twice, wouldnt be a big gig goer and only went for Saturday.

I thought it was great, it's very cool being able to see the lights/ferris wheel/amusements from my bedroom window. Other years Friday was the main day for traffic but this year Thursday was crazy. We'd live on a slip road from the motorway that I'd imaging google maps directs people up so it was really busy, a lot of younger drivers driving too fast for too small a road. But Friday was v quiet. I know there was issues with getting out the N80 but in general the plan seems to have worked very well. Traffic management seems to have worked well tho otherwise and the local facebook/whatsapp groups didnt have much complaining about traffic this year, other years there'd have been a lot.

We have smallies so we get in early on the day we go, the arena seemed to get busier this year earlier than last year. We were back in again for the late night shenanigans and the main arena was crazy busy for Calvin Harris. I'd imaging Wolfe Tones were crazy.

We'll get weekend tickets in a couple of years time when kids are older but obv will go home. There's a couple of decent places in the village itself for food so I'd always recommend people to head up there for some decent fare if you're that way inclined. Pat McDonagh was manning the queues at the Supermacs trucks, he had everyone moving quick!

Just a comment on the cokey-ness - makes for a slightly more poxy atmosphere for sure, especially the white eyed human centipedes running blindly through/into crowds at the main stage etc.

Also - why, oh why, oh why do they all need to queue up for the (not enough) portaloos? can't they just take key or coin bumps outside in the crowd like real men/women?

I actually think they're quite good. Definitely better out there even in the Rebel category but I always thought they were decent.

Just on the chair issue - on their EP website its said no camping equipment allowed into the main arena (even though i saw a fair few chairs) but those telescopic pop up seats don't falll under that so i brought mine to chance it in.

Low and behold, I saw loads of them in the arena. Apparently a stall selling them so its good thing to note for next year

These are them for reference

https://amzn.eu/d/fDl6Cyo

Those pics make me cringe. It's embarrassing stuff. We spent decades kicking against this shite and it's all been welcomed back with open arms. I'm not just talking the Wolfe Tones here (incoming unpopular opinion) but the likes of Mary Wallopers, The Scratch, return of The Saw Doctors. I dunno, it seems like we have regressed a bit just at a point in time when the music being produced in Ireland is something to be proud of.

I'm probably just an unremitting music snob (guilty). Or it's a ploy to use the folk/trad revival as a vanguard for the rising tide of nationalism and these acts will reveal themselves to be right-wingers all along. It's surely no coincidence that the two have occurred simultaneously and the youth are getting restless (joke).

F@ck it, i'm just rambling…

I think you need to review your own opinions - People enjoying Irish music is not regression..

JFC those acts are all antifascists, perhaps you should have gone and listened to them.. they all made their points before and during their sets - and I can tell you for sure they were not throwing out right wing talking points…

You are rambling, rambling very very far off the mark tbh ☺️

Who's the "we" you speak about? What a truly weird weird post.

Possibly the most ignorant take I've seen yet. You don't have a clue what you're talking about clearly. I also find your self professed tag of being a "music snob" to be way off the mark. Youre not that, youre small minded and afraid of what other people may think. Had you have taken yourself to ANY of the Irish bands playing, your eyes alone would have answered your own query.

The Mary Whallopers & his "Refugees Welcome" t-shirt, The WT referencing the Israeli slaughter of Gazan children, Damien Dempsey singing about the colonised, Kneecap with a clear message on Israel and US military presence in Ireland. As someone old enough to remember bombings, shootings and unrest, I will sing every nationalist song I want with gusto and I promise you this, I will do this whilst not walking down the Shankill Rd alongside the UDF claiming "Ireland is Full". Nationalism does not equal Right-wing, not here it doesn't. You seem to be mixing us up with the US & the UK. Horrendous comment, I hope you reflect on it.

Ah now, Arthur McBride is quintessentially an anti-imperialistic, and anti-British colonial ditty.