We went to Electric Picnic and watched a few bands. What we watched was partially dictated by the presence of our toddler and our ten year old – which meant more outdoor stuff and less acts than normal. More on that later. For now, here is a blow by blow of Electric Picnic’s musical offerings through our eyes…
Kylie Minogue at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Kylie (4/5) – The woman, the legend. It was fairly predictable what Kylie’s Sunday night set was going to be: lots of hits, lots of dancers, lots of glitter, and something of a main stage love in. There were a few surprises, such as the arrival of The Blessed Madonna to give a recent Ibiza-themed single its very first live outing (a cool moment, but one of the weaker corners of the set). Largely we were handed beautifully sharp renditions of the likes of ‘Spinning Around’ and ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’, a kind of greatest hits set for the ages that acknowledges the nostalgia angle that’s sure to be involved in any Kylie gig these days.
Sure, we find stuff like ‘Locomotion’ to be naff in the extreme, but overall there’s something oddly magnetic about Kylie even in 2024, serving up a show that briefly breaks from its choreography for her to take a request (‘Better The Devil You Know’ is a good request, too, so respect to the audience member behind that), and chuck roses into the audience. We felt about 12 years old, but enjoyed it immensely.
Raye at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
RAYE (4/5) – If RAYE has somehow flown under your radar over the last couple of years, it’s time to put a stop to that. Her big hit ‘Escapism’ has been a radioplay regular for a while now, but for a singer with only a single album to her name, she looks every bit the future headline act. In fact, there’s something of the Kylie minogue to her stage presence, which is an all round classy affair during which she showcases shining vocals and a natural ability to flit between soaring pop and a light hip-hop edge. She also looks every bit the pop icon. Not many produce a live show this polished so early in their career.
CMAT at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
CMAT (5/5) – The absolute darling of the modern Irish music scene, Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson is hyped to the hilt, so much so that it’s easy to become slightly cynical. Suspend that cynicism: the tracks that have built her reputation are even better performed live. The first big drop is three tracks in, with an emphatic and energetic ‘I Don’t Really Care For You’, which sees CMAT collapse to the ground puppet-like at the close after a magnetically physical performance.
It’s dramatic in the extreme, but it only adds to the depth, and those with any doubts will quickly have been won around by a cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ that is vocally exceptional as anything we’ve seen in a long time. Throw in the massive sing-along of ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’ and this sparkling, evocative performance is a clear highlight of the weekend.
Bambie Thug at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Bambie Thug (3/5) – Snarling and performative, Ireland’s most recent Eurovision entry is very much a theatrical offering, blending industrial-feeling beats with a sharp, punchy vocal and plenty of carefully curated moves. ‘Doomsday Blues’ stands out, with the quality of tracks in general unable to stand up to the stand-out smash, but the general front of the show is compelling, an unusual and feisty take that stands out for how atypical it is. Bambie still feels a few tracks short of a full, memorable set, but this is more than watchable.
The Wolfe Tones at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Wolfe Tones (3/5) – There’s no question that Wolfe Tones' brand of Republican folk is one of the talks of the festival. With plenty of memorable lines, the finer moments are in the
subtle melodies of tracks like ‘Grace’, though it’s notable that Brian Warfield’s vocal is declining – forgivable at almost 80, perhaps – and improved by the substantial audience support. Putting aside the political debate around this band, which we’re not overly interested in, they’re a sometimes charming and sometimes heady and lyrically aggressive folk act that are, truthfully, a little past their finest moment, but enjoying a massive late- career hay day. Theirs is a decent performance, but doesn’t quite justify the massive hyperbole and reception it evokes.
Singalong Social (4/5) – Can songs played over the speaker system with an energetic hype team on stage really be called a live act? It’s mid-afternoon on Sunday and while we can’t answer this question convincingly, we also don’t care one bit. Sing Along Social have become festival regulars and their latest thing is pitting Celine Dion against Bonnie Tyler and getting a crowd belting out a series of absolute bangers. Are we massive fans of either Celine Dion or Bonnie Tyler? Not really. Was this perhaps the most easy-going and enjoyably simple thing we saw all weekend? Absolutely. Set beneath a crashed Cessna in a stage called the ‘Survivor’ Stage, this was as deafening as it was silly, and just a little bit tear-jerking. We could have happily done it all again.
Taylor Byrne (3/5) – Normally a member of The Celtic Social Club, Taylor Byrne brings a friend to a quiet corner of Art Lot early on Sunday, with a feel good set that gets the small
crowd moving. There’s an outstanding cover of Norwegian Wood in there, and we’re fans of his own single ‘Feelin’ Sorta Aimless’, too.
Oh Boland (3/5) – Oh Boland’s brand of lively garage rock is a tough sell at lunchtime on a Sunday with the hangovers still clearly in evidence, but their gnarling, gritty take on guitar music is well-suited to the Salty Dog and teeming with energy. An act that re slightly out of place but catch our attention regardless.
Kodaline at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Kodaline (2/5) – Kodaline’s journey from beautifully original pop music to a more middle of the word recent output hasn’t done them any favours. Producing a happy sing-along down the front, and briefly featuring Cian Ducrot on ‘High Hopes’, the clear highlights are early offerings including closer ‘All I Want’. The Swords group are struggling for stage presence these days, though, with frontman Steve Garrigan asking between almost every song for the audience to sing-along if they know the track, and looking a little uncomfortable throughout.
The result is lullingly pedestrian, a set that seems to fade into the background due to lack of energy. We’re Kodaline fans, especially when it comes to those poetic corners (check out less touted track ‘The Answer’ for just how brilliant they can be), but this is not their finest moment, and largely passes us by.
Kasabian at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Kasabian (4/5) – Leicester rockers Kasabian have been through something of a tumultuous few years, and there’s a case to be made that their best moments are behind them. It didn’t look like it today, however. With Serge firmly installed as frontman, he’s running the show of a hit-heavy set and soaking up a notably pulsating crowd reaction as the band run through a series of old highlights (‘LSF’, ‘Club Foot’, ‘Shoot The Runner’) with occasional glances at their more recent years. They even edge into The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’ briefly at one stage. Above all, it’s simply pulsatingly good fun; a rock band that aren’t taking themselves too seriously.
Kneecap at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Kneecap (3/5) – Another darling of the present (the film, by all accounts, is outright magnificent), Kneecap are set from the moment they walk through the stage door to be one of the “did you see them” acts of the weekend. Riddled with politics, including a jab at the use of Shannon by the US airforce before they even walk on stage. What follows is interesting but not all that compelling, with the female vocal a surprising stand out. As a non- Irish speaker I found it hard to engage with the music through translated subtitles at the back of the stage (probably best left out entirely), and frankly, found the politics more interesting than the music. There’s a reason these guys are hyped to the hilt: energy and message. But on today’s evidence I wouldn’t go home and listen to them.
Moncrief at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Moncrieff (4/5) – Waterford native Moncrieff has been slowly building a profile for closing in on a decade now, and has changed style a little in that time. Always loaded with emotion,
his tracks are vocally heavy and hooky, easy to sing-along with. He’s also a cracking live performer, the type who struts around the stage pumping up a crowd, and in hits like ‘Warm’ and the eminently festival-ready ‘Love Somebody’ he’s got plenty of energy to serve up. We still feel early track ‘Bibles and Guns’, a quiet moment long dropped from the setlist, is his finest moment, but it’s hard to argue with a performance so emphatic.
Da Flyting Irish (3/5) – Fusing elements of reggae, dubstep and hip-hop, Da Flyting Irish are one of the more unusual Irish bands we’ve seen in recent years, delivering punchy lyrics, lively beats and the odd joke about masturbation in a quiet corner of Trenchtown. They’re probably more suited to a club’s dark corners, but very watchable.
As Veces (3/5) – We stumble across this (we think) Spanish language collective from Cork in the serenity garden playing to a crowd of maybe half a dozen around a campfire. They play delicate guitar melodies that gently lull set against a starkly cutting and precise vocal. It kind of fades into the background of a mellow corner of the festival, but at a certain point of the weekend, that simply makes it a good fit.
Noah Kahan at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Noah Kahan (4/5)- This was something of a contentious headline choice (Kahan still gets labelled a one hit wonder), and from the moment he came on stage, the singer- songwriter made it clear even he wasn’t sure he should be headlining. We have to disagree with him on that. Whatever your thoughts on his music, Noah Kahan is one of the nicest men you’re likely to find on any stage, and while his music has a tendency to be downbeat with its charm and a little Mumford and Sons adjacent, some of the hooks are absolutely outstanding.
Take opener ‘Dial Drunk’ and the wonderful ‘Northern Attitude’, for one. And yes, naturally we get that smash ‘Stick Season’ at the end, a track that Kahan himself even seems to be tiring of slightly (“it’s your song now”), but with a beautiful voice, charming attitude and way more depth of great songs that he’s broadly given credit for, he turned out to be a fine choice for a Friday night sing-along. There are few better lyricists out there.
Villagers at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Villagers (4/5) – Conor O’Brien is really hard to criticise as a performer. With the Villagers back catalogue adding fine offbeat emotional melodies year after year, his ability to power through a song with an enviable emotional strength means audience’s truly feel his music. The days of pleasant little ditties are largely behind him; instead Conor opts to explore the sharper ends of his catalogue, which contain a kind of evisceration of the soul. The hollering anthem that is ‘Pieces’ felt particularly poignant today.
Sophie Ellis Bextor at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Sophie Ellis-Bextor (5/5) – An emblem of the early-00s pop scene, Sophie Ellis-Bextor might, at first glance, fall into the ‘mid afternoon filler’ brand of festival booking. Not so. With a perfectly pitched set inevitably leading up to ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’, her early evening showing is riddled with well-chosen bangers. Perhaps recognising she has relatively scant recognisable hits in a 2020s context (though ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Crying at the Discotheque’ are covers she’s made her own), we’re instead treated to absolutely stonking play through of a series of emphatic covers. Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ blends with Abba’s ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!’ and Groovejet’s ‘If This Ain’t Love’ (which, to be fair, was always hers to). The result is as feel good as it comes, and leads the entire main stage field on a merry dance of nostalgic joy. We were cynical, but this was simply superb.
Jazzy at Electric Picnic 2024. Photo by Owen Humphreys www.owen.ie
Jazzy (3/5) – Formerly a slightly nervous looking performer, Jazzy’s string of dance-infused radio hits make her a real crowd-pleasing prospect to open the main stage, with the quality really starting to come through live. Vocally beautiful and with a real Balearic-feeling, almost- 90s vibe to her sound, Jazzy delivers on the sunshine feels, serving up her Belters Only collaborations and massive hit single ‘Giving Me’ as an emphatic finale.