Ben Connolly, of Laois’ Midlands 103 FM, was one of the lucky ones to get a first look inside the festival this afternoon.
“I can tell that they’re getting set to put on a great show for the weekend,” he told Hot Press. “There’s so much to do. Countless acts, original stages and tents, and countless food and drink outlets.
“Some of the highlights that we saw today were the Stradbally Woodland Railway (oldest train in Ireland) which took you through the whole estate. It was conducted by people who were throwing coal into it and all that sort of stuff. Very cool set up.”
The guests also got to take a first look at Red Bull’s innovative SOUNDOME.
“This was something that Red Bull have been working on for the last number of years,” says Ben. “The only way you can describe it is a metal dome with 42 speakers around it. And it gives you an experience of listening to music like no other. There was a specially commissioned DJ there playing music and it really gives you a new sense of music because there’s the force of sub-woofers come at you from every direction. It’s incredible. I’d describe it as a sensory overload. There’s smoke, there’s light, there’s music. It’s something that nobody can prepare themselves for, because anybody that’s listened to music is just listens through a speaker. And surround sound might be one thing, but this is next level to surround sound.”
“It was still very much early days though,” Ben explains. “A lot of the stages were still being built so they kept it tight. There’s still a lot of work to be done between now and Friday. But there were thousands of people working on site with their high-vis jackets.”
Ben also speaks of the special value that Electric Picnic has brought to the local area.
“They keep expanding, they keep making it better. And for the likes of us in a local radio station, we can see what the festival does to the local community in Laois. 55,000 people are going to converge on the tiny town of Stradbally. It’s going to be a great weekend once again."

Ben also noted that Festival Republic CEO Melvin Benn spoke at the event, saying that they would continue to have EP in Stradbally for ten years to come, as well as announcing that Ash would be one of the last minute additions for the weekend.

The all-seeing, all-knowing Ben Connolly also confirmed that, having extensively consulted with the Met Eireann, the weather for Electric Picnic is set to be great throughout the weekend. Great news for everyone involved. But if the contrary proves to be the case, make sure to send in complaint to Midlands 103.......

See you at EP!