The 21st annual Electric Picnic festival will open its gates from Thursday evening, with 80,000 people expected to attend the Stradbally site over the weekend.
Headline acts including Lewis Capaldi, Van Morrison, and CMAT are due on stages across the Co Laois festival, and the team at Stradbally are busy putting in the countdown for Friday’s kick-off.
Melvin Benn, Electric Picnic’s Festival Director, said today during a media preview of the festival that he thinks that the line-up is “just amazing, and that adding Amble, as we did recently, was just the finishing touch”.
From JADE to Geese: Our ten acts to see at Electric Picnic
He is enthusiastic about the main stage line-up, which will see Lewis Capaldi playing on Friday night, Gorillaz and CMAT on Saturday night, and then Fontaines DC on Sunday.
CMAT is among this year’s Electric Picnic headliners
“It could hardly be better,” he said, adding that having Van Morrison on Sunday afternoon is a particular highlight.
“Van the Man, I mean, gosh, just Van being here with us is going to be a treat,” he added.
The team are keen to point out that there will be many support systems in place to ensure visitors stay safe and have fun across the weekend.
The HSE has issued a warning in relation to the rise in availability of the illegal ketamine drug, in particular, and is advising people to take precautions.
HSE initiative aims to combat drug harm at festivals
There will be support from medical teams and Gardaí on site to help people in difficulty, so visitors are advised to ask for help if required.
One group of singers, the Timahoe Male Choir, who performed during the preview tour today, said they are keen to “build on the success” of their appearance on the main stage last year.
The Timahoe Male Choir at the Electric Picnic site
One of its members, Raymond Quigley, explained that the choir is a community spirit choir – “more of a kind of a men’s shed thing”.
He said that the choir, which is drawn from surrounding areas near Timahoe, Co Laois, originally came about “as people having a get-together, to have a bit of craic, sing a few songs”.
Mr Quigley recounted that it began as “people got out of their houses post-Covid, and we all just kept going and going and building and building and building, and it has just exploded!”
While the sun was shining at Stradbally today, there are some rainy weather predictions for the weekend.
Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather said it will be “a very mixed weekend”
Alan O’Reilly from Carlow Weather explained that the dry weather has meant that “soil moisture deficit is about 70 or 80 millimetres, which means it’s very hard now, but there will be showers, so it will be raincoats”.
However, he said that “there will be plenty of dry spells, so a very mixed weekend”.
When asked about the weather for Friday night, he said that there “is a chance of a shower, but there will certainly be a lot of dry spells and some clear spells”.
“So, I think, you know, all in all, it’s going to be pretty good,” he added.
Another act that people are excited to see, according to Melvin Benn, is Irish band on the rise Florence Road.
The group have had a busy summer across festival circuits and are excited to play to a home crowd this weekend.
Lead singer Lily Aron said that “we played here two years ago, so it’s amazing to be back here playing and so much has happened in that time”.
She added that there is “something really special about playing on stage and seeing familiar faces in the crowd”, as friends and family will be there to support them.
For 19-year-old musician Daragh Cosgrove, Electric Picnic will cap off a busy week, as he received his Leaving Cert results on Friday and is waiting for a CAO offer tomorrow.
He explained that he won a competition to appear on the Croí Stage, and he is very excited to share his music with the crowds there.
“I first got into music when I went to see the Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody at around age 10, and since then, I have been practising on my piano and working on my music,” he said.
Daragh Cosgrove is very excited to share his music with the crowds
Tickets for Electric Picnic 2026 sold out in a matter of hours last year, and with the cost of tickets ranging from €245 upwards, attendees will be looking for a memorable weekend.
With acts including Damien Dempsey and The Saw Doctors also appearing across the festival and an extended line-up to the Comedy Arena programme, along with other new developments, including a stage dedicated to Irish hip-hop, organisers said there is more than ever for festival-goers to enjoy.
The team at Stradbally say they are confident that Electric Picnic 2026 will be a 21st birthday party to remember.