Electric Picnic 2018: Highs and lows of the festival

Most riotous gig, most welcome encore, worst performance, best chat, tastiest food

Most riotous gig: the Dublin hip-hop duo Versatile on stage on Friday. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd
Most riotous gig: the Dublin hip-hop duo Versatile on stage on Friday. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd

Most riotous gig

Versatile, at Electric Arena on Friday evening. Gigs don't get any more explosive.

Most curious audience

The crowd for Inhaler, at Other Voices on Saturday afternoon, all of whom were having a goo at Bono's son Elijah.

Best surprise gig

50,000 people enjoyed a mud-free weekend at the Electric Picnic arts and music festival. Video: Enda O'Dowd

Sigrid, who rocked up at the Other Voices Room an hour before her Electric Arena show. The queues!

Best surprise gig: Sigrid, who rocked up at Other Voices an hour before her arena show. Photograph: Dave Meehan
Best surprise gig: Sigrid, who rocked up at Other Voices an hour before her arena show. Photograph: Dave Meehan

Best-dressed performer (female)

Niamh Farrell of Hamsandwich, at Electric Arena on Saturday. Her vibrant-red pantsuit stole the day.

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Best-dressed performers (male)

The Unelectables, at Salty Dog on Saturday. Nick Kelly leads a band of shiny-booted and smartly suited men of a certain age.

Best stage invasion

The bloke dressed as a ninja turtle who danced on stage with Hamsandwich.

Best food experience

The impromptu chicken-chopping-as-drumming musical performance by the chefs at the Kinara Pakistani Cuisine stand. And the food. Oh, the food!

Most absurd why-would-they-do-that?

People drinking cans and listening to tinny MP3 players in the campsites while, just a few metres away, some of the finest sound systems in the world were pumping out a feast of choice tunes.

Worst Main Stage act

Gomez, on Saturday afternoon. "Sing along to this next song if you know the words!" Cue silence.

Best conversation

Alison Spittle and Sharon Horgan, at Mindfield on Saturday. Taking turns to interview each other, the women provided personal insights that hovered between amusing and emotional.

Scariest installation: the hooded figures in Peter Slyman’s Peer Pressure
Scariest installation: the hooded figures in Peter Slyman’s Peer Pressure

Scariest installation of the weekend

The hooded figures gathered in a circle in the trees beside the Other Voices stage. It was like stumbling on a deleted scene from Stranger Things as you made your way to Salty Dog.

Fashion statement of the weekend

NBA basketball tops. Whatever happened to the once ubiquitous music-festival GAA jersey?

Best podcast

No Encore, on the Ah, Hear! stage at Mindfield. Dave Hanratty, Colm O'Regan and guests provided quick-witted insights into pop culture.

Best model

Darina Allen, showcasing chefswear at Theatre of Food on Sunday.

Mystery of the weekend

The tent with the Jonah Hill flag fluttering from its gazebo. What were they thinking? Actually, don't answer that.