Rain does little to dampen spirits at Electric Picnic as Tipperary talent shines

Electric Picnic 2026 came and went in the blink of an eye for festival-goers over the weekend, as tens of thousands descended upon the popular Stradbally festival for its 21st running.​

Crowds flocked in their droves from last Thursday onwards to get their tents pitched and get the festival atmosphere to start building.

The rain dominated the early discussions, with heavy rainfall forecasted at times over the duration of the festival.

This did very little to dampen the spirits of those in attendance however, with rain jackets and wellies the choice of attire for a large amount of the weekend’s proceedings.

Jade took to the stage at 6pm on Friday to kick off the performances on the main stage, before Zara Larsson took over at 7:30pm as the first headliner to perform, where she gave three young fans an experience they won’t quickly forget, taking them on stage to perform her hit song ‘Lush Life’ alongside her to the thousands-strong crowd.

Sombr took the reins from 9pm onwards, dazzling the crowd with his biggest hits, before handing over to Lewis Capaldi, fresh off the back of several sell-out Irish performances, who proved exactly why he is as popular as he is.

The ever-popular Mary Wallopers commanded the attention of the packed crowd during their performance as Saturday evening turned to night, before the crowd went wild for CMAT shortly after, with Damon Albarn and Gorillaz closing out day two, playing some of their greatest hits.

A huge crowd turned up to the Main Stage on Sunday for an iconic performance from The Saw Doctors, as the crowd transformed into a sea of green and red for their hour-long set, which included a surprise appearance from several members of the All-Ireland-winning Mayo footballers during ‘Green and Red of Mayo’.

Djo would take over shortly after as the sky began to clear, putting on a performance to remember, before Irish acts would resume their Main Stage duties, as Amble took over to see the evening into the night.

The crowd then prepared for the final headline act of the festival, with Fontaines DC, keeping the crowd singing along throughout, with a loud roar coming over the arena space for the announcement of their upcoming Slane Castle gig, as the Sunday evening festival blues began to rear their head.

Tipperary was well represented throughout the weekend, with Paradise Conspiracy, winners of Electric Youth, taking to the Hazelwood Stage on Saturday, and MIMI performing with Tinie Tempah on the Main Stage on Sunday.

Many of the headlines throughout the weekend however were dominated by the excessive crowd at some acts, with American DJ Armand van Helden having his performance at the Smirnoff Stage cancelled on Friday night over safety concerns.

These overcrowding concerns were furthered on the Saturday night, with Electric Picnic app users receiving several notifications late into the night warning them to not make their way to the Electric Arena for Duke Dumont’s set, also due to overcrowding concerns.

Festival Director Melvin Benn was quick to downplay concerns over the overcrowding, saying that Duke Dumont’s set was a “perfect operation.”

Benn however did acknowledge that van Helden was too big an act for a stage the size of the Smirnoff Stage, and that the event was called off the moment the crowd collapsed, in order to get the issue swiftly under control.

Another major talking point from the festival was undoubtedly the weather, with heavy rainfall at several points throughout the weekend allowing for less-than-ideal conditions for those without wellies or heavy-duty footwear.

The crowd was not to be deterred from seeing their artists of choice, however, with the festival arena packed from early morning until late at night from Friday to Sunday, and only some slight schedule re-organisation needed to accommodate for particularly heavy spells.

Electric Picnic managed to show once again why it is one of the premier festival events in the country, with a stellar and diverse line-up of acts providing something for everyone.

The skies may have been grey and the ground a challenge in places to traverse, but the crowds didn’t let their spirits become dampened, as the organisers can count another successful outing towards their tally.

Attention now turns to the 2027 edition of the festival, which is due to take place from August 27 to 29, 2027.

Presale tickets are due to go on sale on Wednesday morning, September 2, with general sale going live at 10am on Friday, September 4.