There are approximately 1,041 artists listed to perform at Electric Picnic. Some are artists in the truest sense of the word and some, naturally enough, stretch the definition of the word to the most elastic point imaginable.
Once you take out the latter, subtract the ones you can see or hear any other day of the week, count the number of chefs heading to Co Laois for the weekend, and highlight the ones you and everyone else have paid good money to see (ie LCD Soundsystem if you’re over 25 years of age), you’re still left with a fairly large dancecard to pick from.
All of this is before you add in the random stuff that always happens at a festival like this – and the fact that you’ll spend a couple of hours on Sunday looking for somewhere showing the hurling match.
Here, then, are OTR’s 10 tips for a decent weekend. Naturally enough, you won’t get to see all of them, but when you’re standing in the middle of that big field wondering where to go next, this guide might be handy (provided your phone is still working).
1 Head along to hear Blindboy Boatclub and friends talking about culture. The lad from The Rubberbandits makes more sense about what culture really means than everyone in the Arts Council and Aosdána put together.
2 Dig the raw power of Savages. Recent album Adore Love is a work of primal, post-everything ferocity that kicks out the jams with indecent pleasure. A band you can truly count on to deliver.
3 Go see Whitney. Check out the lovely shapes and shimmers on the Chicago band's gorgeous Light Upon the Lake album first on whatever streaming service you favour and feast your ears on their sunny, hazy, melancholic, romantic gems.
4 Find your feet with Daniel Avery. When it comes to soundtracks for a run around the city, Avery's 2013 album Drone Logic still does the job with its magnetic thump and thud of far-side techno and electronica. Hopefully, he'll slip a few new tracks into the wash during this Irish visit.
5 Check out Talos. Eoin French and friends are fast becoming a serious proposition live, thanks to tracks such as Your Love Is an Island, which showboat French's growing confidence as a producer and songcrafter.
6 Sing along with The High Hopes Choir. Featured on an RTÉ documentary in 2014, this choir of people touched by homelessness has really hit a chord far and wide.
7 Hear your new favourite act Julia Jacklin. One of the big hits at this year's SXSW beano in Texas, the Australian singer-songwriter's forthcoming album Don't Let the Kids Win is set to bring about a heightened profile for Jacklin and her sparkling, detailed, distinctive songs.
8 Trip back to your roots with Lynched. The Dublin four-piece have been getting a lot of love home and away for the verve and style with which they've given a whole new lease of life to a bunch of old-school songs, ballads and tunes.
9 Say hello to Maurice O'Connor aka Sample Answer. The Dublin-born, London-based troubadour is fast adding significant lines to his musical CV every passing few months. Great voice, strong talent.
10 Get fired up with Little Simz. A big noise in the making, the north London MC's releases have demonstrated her smarts to the gallery. However, her live shows are on another level entirely and are where she really shines.
