Stevie G: Good vibes and great gigs at Electric Picnic
Good times as Chic plays at Electric Picnic.
Sometimes at festivals, the line-up is so amazing that you spend lots of the time in a suspended state of FOMO, but having little expectations meant I was pretty relaxed and just drifted around the place catching multiple acts.
The only headliner I was really curious about was Chappell Roan, and she was superb on Friday night. Like the vast majority of the audience, I only really knew her singles, but I was immediately impressed by the power of her voice and her commanding presence. Musically, she reminded me very much of the 80s pop stars such as Madonna, Pat Benatar, and Kate Bush, and obviously there were hints of Gaga and Stevie Nicks too. It was a very theatrical show on a beautiful end-of-summer evening, and the crowd, which included many young kids, were very much all on board. Chappell is the real deal, and this was a great start to the weekend.
Elsewhere on Friday, I basically floated around enjoying the sunshine and soaking up the good vibes. Everyone who gets set up and into the festival by Friday afternoon is naturally in a great mood, as it can be quite stressful getting everything organised. From an artist’s perspective, I’ve spent a few Fridays trying to get accreditation sorted for hours on end, but I was very impressed with the organisation this year, which was very smooth (from my perspective anyway). The traffic plans were good too, and even inside the festival, the masses of crowds were generally policed really well, and the crowd was good at looking after themselves too. The Electric Picnic app is excellent for updates, and communication was good.
The other artist I checked out on Friday was Curtisy, one of Ireland’s best new-school rappers, and his set was banging. Khakikid was another of Ireland’s new wave who won tons of new friends this weekend, and his main gig was mobbed as KneeCap finished up on Saturday.
I’ve written enough columns on Kneecap this year to fill a newspaper, so I won’t labour on them this time, but this was typically well received, set in front of their biggest audience yet, on a Saturday afternoon in Stradbally. I had just come from a chat about hip-hop and racism in the Global Green arena where I was on the panel, and it was interesting to get the different perspectives from a number of really interesting panellists and audience members.
I was staying off site and headed away for a couple of hours before returning on Saturday evening, just in time to catch Cork singer AbbieLee and her band in Trenchtown, which was followed by Nile Rodgers and Chic in the main arena.
The sun was out once again, and I only headed there to meet some friends, as to be honest, Chic were not part of my plans this time. Their 2009 gig in Ireland remains one of the greatest ever EP gigs for me, as it was the first time they had played here, and it was a major moment for a fan of hip-hop, soul and disco to see these guys in the flesh. Since then, Chic have played Ireland regularly, and I’ve warmed up for them a lot, plus spent some time with Nile Rodgers interviewing him too. The box had long been ticked and I’d seen the show numerous times but, for whatever reason, on Saturday night the stars aligned and I ended up having a great time at this show. Their songs, including their anthems they wrote and produced for Sister Sledge and many more, mean a lot to me personally, and are some of my most treasured jams. Since 2009, Nile has also contributed heavily to classics such as Lose Yourself to Dance by Daft Punk and Cuff It by Beyonce, and these were both included in a fantastic celebration of music, unity, and partying in front of a jubilant crowd.
Finally, after a brief interlude watching Mark McCabe, it was Fatboy Slim on the Main Stage, and this was the perfect end to my festival. Good friends, dance bangers, an up-for-it crowd, great visuals, and a brilliant DJ who understands the music and its history, made for the perfect Saturday night in Stradbally. Roll on 2026!
