Latest additions to the line-up – 23rd of July
Giorgio Moroder (Chris Cox DJ set), MO, Billy Bragg, Young Wonder, Jagwar Ma, Indians, Duckworth Lewis Method, Kodaline, Braids,Two Door Cinema Club, The Duckworth Lewis Method, Cyril Hahn, Summer Camp, Sam Smith.
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Electric Picnic announced 23 further additions to its line-up for what is being dubbed the “10th Birthday” celebration taking place in Stradbally on the last weekend in August.
The line-up is not yet complete, and we still expect a tranche of solid DJs to be added sometime in August, as was the case last year, but with today’s additions the Picnic is very much playing to its strengths. Some acts added will certainly help to sway those cash strapped regulars and encourage them to cease their waiting game and go for the weekend they know over the vast array of attractive alternatives that have sprung up this year for the spoiled Irish music punter. The highlight of the additions, for me, is the soulful Matthew E. White whose debut album ‘Big Inner’ is one of the finest of 2013 so far. He left a sold out Whelan’s crowd enraptured when he played there in January and he was apparently bed ridden with a flu that day and nearly had to cancel the show so imagine what he’ll be like in full health and with a stage big enough for his huge travelling band – he’ll soar, a perfect fit.
Then there’s also Robert Plant, John Grant, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Noah & The Whale and Little Green Cars and many more added to the eclectic bill.
Last night the 50th edition of This Is Banter was hosted by Irish Times music correspondent Jim Carroll and it brought together some music folks with heavily vested interests in the coming Summer melee: festival promoters. The panel was made up of Declan Forde, from Forbidden Fruit & POD, Avril Stanley, from Body & Soul, and Leagues O’Toole who is running the Harmonic shows in the Iveagh Gardens. Theirs is an unenviable game to be in at present with unprecedented competition sparking talk of metaphorical bloodbaths, disasters and the purging to come but all this is obviously being whispered in hushed tones “Off The Record” because on stage last night the panel belied the stress they are apparently under to give a calm, almost zen-like, performance to the social-media rounded-up crowd in a packed Twisted Pepper. At times they were so horizontal that print journalist Jim Carroll had to work hard to extract some semblance of fear out of them, obviously this calm bodes well for the sales of their respective shows but surely they must still be nervous as they identified that the break-even point for a festival is only ever crossed in the final flurry of ticket buying in the week preceding the actual event so with this in mind their relaxed manner was impressive especially in the face of the 2013 saturation in the market.
One thing became clear from the talk: there will be winners and losers this Summer, and as one guaranteed winner, Bruce Springsteen, quipped in an ‘Atlantic City’ lyric, “Don’t get caught on the wrong side of that line.” It’s going to be incredibly difficult for promoters not to get burned this Summer and with the amount of events competing for thinner slices of diminishing punter income huge sums are bound to be lost. But if the overtures from this lot are anything to go by it won’t be Forbidden Fruit, Body & Soul or the Iveagh Gardens shows that end up getting axed in 2014. This savvy bunch will be around next year and perhaps that’s because they understand and value the trappings that make the weekends special, trappings such as this lively and entertaining 50th edition of This Is Banter.
It has been muted by those in the know that the Picnic is selling well, it is a strong brand with a loyal following so this isn’t surprising. However, for a festival that usually sells its tickets at the last minute this change in consumer behaviour is welcome and could be attributed to the new policy of rewarding loyal fans with a ticket price of €149.50 for a weekend ticket. That is the discount for those that can prove they’ve been three times or more and it seems to have worked in attracting people to buy their tickets earlier than they have in previous years. Ticketmaster must also be applauded for being lenient with the criteria for proof as old festival lanyards and even hazy pictures of indecipherable campsites are sufficing; fair play to them! As the promoters eluded to last night, early ticket sales are vital for a festival to survive as it gets cash-flow going and things can get done. The opportunity to get these discounts ends on May 27th when ticket prices will go up to €189.50 and then on July 28th they’ll go up to their final price of €229.50.
Full list of acts added to the line-up:
Robert Plant, Ellie Goulding, Little Green Cars, The Beat, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Space Dimension Controller, John Grant, Miles Kane, Matthew E. White, Crystal Fighters, Gavin James, Dawes,Valerie June, Factory Floor, Lady Lamb The Beekeeper, Charli XCX, Cayucas, Lulu James, Night Beds, Chrome Sparks, Big Black Delta, Terri Hooley (Living off Good Cinematic Vibrations!)
Prices:
Stradbally, Friday August 30th-Sunday 1st September 2013.
3 or more Picnics discount: €149.50
1 Picnic: €169.50
None: €189.50
After the discounts end a weekend ticket goes up to €229.50.
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Original Post Published: 25th April
Today the line-up for Electric Picnic 2013 was finally announced ending months of rumours and conjecture. This is the 10th installment of the boutique festival which has ensconced itself in the rolling lawns of Thomas Cosby’s Stradbally Estate; this is its home. Home, they say, is where the heart is and for the loyal Picnic contingent the September bank holiday weekend has become a pilgrimage of sorts, an annual musical sojourn, so today’s announcement brought relief as speculation of a hiatus had been rife.
This year loyal fans of the festival will be rewarded by the organisers, that is if you can prove to the infamous gatekeepers of the music industry, Ticketmaster, that you have made the pilgrimage thrice or more. Here is where things get tricky for the eager punter. What will serve as proof? An email, Bank Statement or receipt on a Ticketmaster account? Once you go beyond these standard methods things get tenuous. “I bought it off a mate”, perfectly reasonable – but how do you prove it? What will they accept as evidence? Will knowing to turn left at the Heath to avoid the traffic on the way down – a highly useful bit of local knowledge – will that suffice? Say an ability to navigate the forest blindfolded or find the rave with ear plugs in? Or an 8 second clip of that earthshattering 2005 Arcade Fire set uploaded from your Youtube account? Maybe a doctor’s cert for hypothermia dated from September 2009 when you decided it was a good idea to head straight from a midnight jaquzzi session in Body & Soul to catch the end of Sea Sick Steve’s set on the Salty-dog stage and nearly froze to death? Perhaps a time-lapse video of the tented festival below, shot from the heights of the ferris wheel with Massive Attack’s Hymn of the Big Wheel emanating from off in the distance? Or the ability to produce a sufficient number of mouldy wristbands, that must be grounds for getting the discount? There are definitely some diehards from 2004 out there that have accumulated nine wristbands on their arms and have shielded them from their bosses all these years in anticipation of such a pay-day and this is their year. I guess you did tell us it’d be worth it. But for the ordinary folk who can hardly remember how they got in, let alone where they kept the receipt for the ticket, it will be more difficult. We can all speculate as to what will serve as proof that one has been the festival three times or more but the final call will be left in the hands of Ticketmaster and it is up to them to decide the merits of each case. If they are smart they will see this as a face-saving opportunity. If they give leeway on the “burden of proof” and take a hit on the price they receive for each ticket it will go a long way towards assuaging the anger of punters who’ve had to endure hidden fees on tickets bought over the years. The aptly named Ticketmaster have used their monopolistic position in the Irish music market to charge extra fees for years and the sums collected from each music fan undoubtedly add up to a vast multiple of the discount but a gesture like this would be a welcome one.
In the build-up to today’s announcement we’ve all imagined ourselves as bookers unencumbered by concerns such as budgets, competing festivals and entitled agents and we’ve emerged with that line-up that you and your friends crave, your perfect weekend free from any tough decisions or clashes. However, those fantasies are over and reality has struck as Daft Punk remain committed to only touring their new album at a farming festival in the outback of Australia and we’re left to ponder some concrete news about the line-up. For me, it’s great news. The Picnic is yet to let me down. The headliners are Bjork, Fatboy Slim and The Artic Monkeys. After that comes Electric Picnic’s strong suit, the eclectic mix of mid-level acts on an unabated upward trajectory: Eels, Disclosure, Hurts, Warpaint, Soak, The Walkmen, Baauer, Chvrches. Then you have the old guard solo acts who furnished some of our favourite bands: David Byrne & St Vincent (Talking Heads) and Johnny Marr (Smiths). Some quality bands: Franz Ferdinand, Ocean Colour Scene and Noah & the Whale and some newbies: Styrpes (The Cavan youngsters gaining real touring experience) and the intriguing Parquet Courts. And as with any first announcement there’ll be Many, many more……what needs to be brought in, in my humble, is some quality house and electronic acts. Today saw James Murphy release a press statement saying LCD Soundsystem would not be reuniting anytime soon but a solo appearance from the hipster guru would be welcome, also Joe Goddard’s side project 2 Bears would be perfect fit again in the Bacardi Tent (it’s hardly a tent anymore its a veritable Hacienda). There is great home grown talent on the electro scene to choose from, such as MMoths & Mano le Tough (with full new album Changing Days released recently), that will be added during the summer. You’re also guaranteed those unheard of gems that are unearthed at SxSW that surprise us every year. So we eagerly await the ad-ons, but for the moment we’ll buy our tickets off the strength of what has been released, content in the knowledge that we’ll close out one of Ireland’s best summers of music in a familiar part of the countryside.
Already our call for House & Electro has been answered, and an old stalwart rap group have been added too! Keep them coming!
Wu Tang Clan, My Bloody Valentine, Mano Le Tough, Hudson Mowhawke, Mount Kimbie, The Knife, Blondes, MS MR, Peace, Merchandise, The 1975, Luke Sital-Singh, Palma Violets.
Prices:
Stradbally, Friday August 30th-Sunday 1st September 2013.
3 or more discount: €149.50
1 Picnic: €169.50
None: €189.50
After the discount ends a weekend ticket goes up to €229.50.
The Arctic Monkey’s headline Sunday and a one day ticket is €85. The weekend comes with all the delightful trappings that make the weekend: Mindfield Spoken Word, Body & Soul, Comedy Tent, Salty Dog, Trenchtown, Trailer Park, Bacardi etc
Weekly Music Choice 