2020's EP follows on from 2019's gathering, which saw Billie Eilish and Hozier come home on the opening day, The Strokes, Bonnie Tyler and Duff McKagan rock Saturday, and Florence and the Machine make a triumphant return to headline, as the festival closed.
Other acts announced include multiple Brit Award winner Lewis Capaldi, sensations Picture This, and a returning Run the Jewels. Dave Grohl favourite Rick Astley, troubadour James Vincent McMorrow, and Stone Roses man Ian Brown also land spots on the bill. All of the acts announced cane be viewed below.
Rage Against the Machine - Snow Patrol - The Chemical Brothers - Picture This - Lewis Capaldi
Bicep (Live) – Ian Brown – Run the Jewels
Foals – Skepta – James Vincent McMorrow – Annie Mac – Mabel – Rick Astley
Jeff Mills – Denzel Curry – Helena Hauff – Paula Temple - I Hate Models – Matador - J.I.D
Rejjie Snow – Little Simz – Declan McKenna – JPEGMAFIA – ANNA - 070 Shake
Lyra – Saint Sister – Franc Moody – Beabadoobee – Just Mustard –Joy Crookes
Rina Sawayama - 100 Gecs – Romare - Black Country, New Road – Miya Folick – Arlo Parks
Kllo – Miraa May – April – Aoife Nessa Francis – The Lathums
The Magic Gang – Lola Young – Greentea Peng – Pip Millett - Ghum
The magnetic draw of the festival is the incredible line-up on the main stage, and this year organisers have increased the capacity of the main stage field. By cleverly reconfiguring the position of the stage in the newly created larger arena, this area will increase in size by 60% giving picnickers unrivalled views of the stage. And of course, easy access to see your favourite headliner is key, so the Jimi Hendrix arena entrance has doubled in size.
Putting spirit right back into Electric Picnic this year, the festival is proud to unveil the brand-new Mind & Body area. The same much loved magical elements will continue to enthral and entertain in this natural amphitheatre and on the many intimate and quirky stages, alongside the myriad veggie and food options, open fires and the numerous mystical and artistic creations that you happen upon. This new area also offers up the opportunity to nourish and nurture the mind and body in the brand-new Consciousness Village.
Curated by Conscious Concert Ireland, the Village will harmonise your energy and transport you to an oasis of calm, nourishment and tranquillity; a carefully selected programme featuring some of Ireland’s leading healers and therapists. Wandering through this refreshed area, you may find yourself immersed in heart-opening Indian mantra singing or otherworldly music that expands your sense of joy and gratitude. Giggle at the innocent excitement of meeting a kindred spirit during a soulmate group meditation or enter the holistic playground where your body and mind can stretch to Yoga or Tai Chi in the garden. Intriguing wisdom talks and panel discussions on-stage will centre around all things conscious, offering you a deeper understanding of yourself. Or if it’s just a moment of zen you’re after, simply come to lie back and get rubbed up the right way by one of our holistic therapists in the healing haven.
This is a full spectrum of soulful programme spanning many stages, tents, yurts and tipis, together holding a central intention of co-creating a positive Picnic energy. Mind & Body will be open until 3am each night, providing tender refuge and quieter moments of connection over the entire festival weekend.
Re-locating to a new home on the Picnic site and now nestled adjacent to Mind & Body, MindField will also be sporting a vibrant new look. The Leviathan stage will amplify grassroots political activism and critical thinking with entertaining and informative debates and workshops on issues vital to this young generation; the new Human Lab stage will bring science and technology back to the heart of MindField with a bang and a fizz; while Manifesto will present some of the very best talent writing for print and screen. The hugely popular Ah, Hear! Podcast stage returns with new stars and old favourites; and The Hip Hop, Beats and Rhymes stage will present the best of slam poetry, grime, hip hop and performance with some of the acts that have made the Irish scene one of the world’s most exciting. An Puball Gaeilge will also be ar ais arís with a colourful clár of podchraoladh beo, díospóreachtaí, ceoil, caint agus craic: the best of intelligent Irish language entertainment.
The curtains will also open on the brand-new theatre tent in MindField, an exciting new large-scale venue offering world class theatre, opera and dance. This new venue, with theatre style seating, promises to be one of the hottest seats at this year’s Picnic, with must-see shows and tailor-made performances. Prepare to be enthralled by performances from Ballet Ireland, as they showcase excerpt ‘Minus 16’ from their upcoming season Bold Moves, which not only delights in its own wackiness, but also celebrates the joy of dancing. Irish National Opera will be presenting Fatal Attractions, a concert of arias and duets that feature in famous films, three wonderfully talented opera singers will be joined by a 30 piece orchestra. Witness the world premiere of a bespoke show by Xnthony; don’t miss Bryan Burroughs’ multi-award winning one-man show full of humour, sorrow, wit and warmth Beowulf: The Blockbuster; and take in performances by Edinburgh Fringe Festival favourites Dream Gun Film Reads while Steve Bennett will thrill with his half madcap comedy, half role-playing game of Dungeons & Naggins with special guests.
Elsewhere, get lost in Fish Town, Electric Picnic’s carnival town, steeped in the folklore of its proprietor - Jerry Fish - and inspired by a love of theatrical tall tales, circus culture and amazing music. Caged, stray, concealed or revealed, it’s all good here. This is where “normal” is redefined. Fish Town will be moving into the woods in Stradbally this year, it includes The Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow Circus Tent, pop-up sideshow stages, a cafe, and a bar, building on the community of mayhem-loving misfits that frequent Fish Town. Everyone is a VIP in Fish Town, with Jerry creating a ‘backstage’ experience - a place where artists, fans and friends can meet up, talk about, and plot their Picnic adventures and experiences. One can definitely expect the unexpected in Fish Town.
New to the Picnic last year was Freetown, which will see a population explosion for 2020, returning is dance-cathedral Terminus, swamp-hut Spike Island, and South American pueblo Providencia - all of which are back with full programmes and mind-blowing visuals. And this year sees further expansion around these areas: a much larger streetscape comprising new districts such as the surveillance-heavy Lower 7th (under the thumb of The Rathouse, but with a dissident population centred around an underground trans club), Cerebral Fortress (a hospital for the festivally insane run by an unsavoury body of staff who mismanage over-prescribed patients), the shanty-scape of Northside Rises which is home to a new hip-hip stage, a Céilí House with a weekend-long seisiún, and numerous other curiosities that you are unlikely to stumble upon anywhere else in the world.
The Hazel Wood is growing, and we encourage you to wander into the majestic woodlands of the Stradbally estate and immerse yourself in this artistic haven of theatre, spoken word, music, comedy and art. Conradh na Gaeilge will be back to the Hazel Woods this year putting the Irish language at Croí na Féile, or at the heart of the festival, with an even stronger presence and representation of the Irish language programming - music, talks, dancing late into the night. A new Raidió Rí-Rá Shack will be broadcasting and going live to keep up with all the craic agus ceol over the weekend of festivities!
Tá ceantar na Collchoille faoi bhláth, agus molaimid daoibh dul ag spaisteoireacht i gcoilte ar estáit an tSráidbhaile, chun go tapóidh tú an deis a bheith tumtha sa tearmann seo lán de chultúr, dráma, filíocht ó bhéal, ceol, greann agus ealaíon. Beidh Conradh na Gaeilge ar ais sa Chollchoill arís i mbliana leis an teanga a chuir ag Croí na Féile, ag cuir leis an láithreacht atá ann cheanna, ag léirú trí Ghaeilge clár de cheol, chaint agus damhsa déanach istoíche. Agus beidh bothán nua Raidió Rí-Rá ann ag craoladh beo agus ag taifead le craic agus ceol an deireadh seachtaine a chuir thar na haerthonnta.
As you soak up the electric atmosphere and follow the Art Trail, keep an eye out for the results of Field Studies, an exciting new partnership between the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dun Laoghaire that offers an exclusive opportunity for students to exhibit their artwork across the festival site. The theme of the inaugural Field Studies is HARVEST and the students have been busy creating big, bold and brave installations ranging from sculptures to print, projection to audio. Electric Picnic wants to see the talent and creativity IADT students have to offer and celebrate it.
After a full day of traversing the festival site and taking in all the music, the sights and the sounds Electric Picnic has to offer, it’s time to catch a few zzzs. For those of you who love that bit of extra luxury and comfort, we are delighted to announce the Premium Campsite…. The premium campsite will offer hot showers, flush toilets and close access to your car. Located on the Abbeyleix road, picnickers will be able to access the festival site via a bridge which will take them directly to the middle of the action! Tickets for the premium campsite will go on sale on April 10th.
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