Stradbally hall shimmered in the sunshine as Electric Picnic 2023 commenced its Saturday episode. Friday was a tough act to follow- an opening day of top class acts punctuated by Billie Eilish' grand pyrotechnic finale at the main stage.

An advantage Saturday had over the day before was the weather, which contradicted previous predictions of drizzle, setting the scene for one of the hottest Picnics to date.

Any hangovers were soothed by an assured and impassioned afternoon set courtesy of rising Corkonian Cian Ducrot.

Starting off with the title track from his recent LP Victory, he needn’t have sang a single syllable, as his ever-growing army of dedicated fans accompanied him word-for-word. 

Nonetheless, Ducrot’s pipes were flawless throughout the set. 

Self-deprecation and humbleness were persistent throughout as the singer constantly thanked his audience with a genuine sense of gratitude.

These feelings went both ways, as the singer’s ballads had audience members on shoulders and in tears. 

Ducrot also treated the thousands watching with a flute solo on ‘Endless Nights’ and a rap verse on ‘People’ (a Libanca song on which he features) , showcasing that beneath the pop superstar is a real musician’s musician. 

Cian Ducrot
Copyright: Liam Murphy

Shortly after over at the Electric Arena, Westmeath quartet The Academic provided an energetic indie-rock set. The aptly named stage was frizzing with excitement in the build-up.

When the sound engineer is greeted to impassioned cheers as he test-bashes the drummer’s toms, you know you’ve got the right crowd. 

Appearing to a rapturous reception, the indie rockers got the show rolling with ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’. 

Frontman Craig Fitzgerald was clearly up for it this evening- and the crowd matched him, reflecting back his verses and choruses. Natural and animated, tight and professional, it was no surprise to see the tent bursting to the seams.

While it’s fair to say that most of the band’s followers are of a younger persuasion, The Academic’s feel-good indie bops had plenty of older audience members twisting and shaking their stuff at the tent’s perimeters.

The ball of Irish talent kept rolling with Nell Mescal at the 3 Music Stage.

Returning from her current HQ of London , she kept recognising people in the crowd,  waving excitedly at those she knew.

At one point she singled  out her parents in the audience and encouraged her fans to say hi to them with her.

Making her Stradbally debut, it’s abundantly clear that she deserved the warm homecoming.

Mescal has a hypnotic voice, one that keeps taking you by surprise in the best ways possible.

Unlike many of her contemporaries, she steered away from the soft-falsetto vocals, instead opting to blow her audience out of the water with her resonant and distinctive head voice.

Nell Mescal
Copyright Liam Murphy.

Tom Odell showcased his musical talents back at the main stage.

The first thing that many listeners notice is what an accomplished pianist he is – while he’s accompanied by a three-piece band here you could easily see him holding a crowd’s attention if he opted to play alone

Visibly excited and stumbling over over his words, Odell told onlookers how thrilled he was to be playing in Laois, and that Electric Picnic is "the best festival in the world".

Treating his appreciators, he showed off the unreleased 'Black Friday', a touching gentle song that explores self-doubt in a relationship.

Odell's band matched the main man, with potent clashing cymbals, jazzy guitar riffs and signature blues beats in songs like 'Fighting Fire With Fire' and 'Son of an Only Child'.

In a show of the performer's seemingly endless positivity, Odell spread the Picnic love by encouraging everyone to "give someone you love a hug now and tell them you love them" during a particularly moving rendition of 'Hold Me'.

Last minute festival announcements don't come much better than Loyle Carner, who was announced as a surprise addition to the Rankin's Wood Stage earlier on in the week.

Carner's gig wound itself angrily, thoughtfully and tunefully through the rapper's innr thoughts, taking in vast swathes of  emotional subject matter - racism, men expressing their feelings, and Loyle's experience the father-son relationship.

One of the most impressive strings to the British-Guyanese artist's bow is how he eloquently dissects these subjects that others in his genre sometimes swerve.

The show ended with a message of peace and love, as Carner told his fans to “take these words and go forwards”. While the concert may have finished there, its memories of lucid lyricism and expert delivery linger on.

Loyle Carner at Electric Picnic 2023. Photos by Abigail Ring/Hot Press

Before Carner at the Rankin's wood stage were Brighton fan-favourites Lovejoy

They drew an impressive crowd bursting with diehard fans, many of whom had structured their entire weekend around seeing this set.

Revellers were hoisted on shoulders, waving their arms wildly to the bubbly, high-tempo tunes. The audience was undoubtedly one of the loveliest of the weekend, the inclusive Gen-Z swarm encouraging others to enjoy the music and dance along.

The songs are effortlessly danceable and dance the crowd did, waving their arms and screaming along to every single word.

Down the road at the Electric Arena, Dublin-sweethearts Inhaler took to the stage as the Stradbally sun started to set.

Inhaler played Electric Picnic four years ago in the Rankin’s Wood tent, an event that was on their minds as frontman Ely Hewson reminded the exultant crowd- “This is bigger than that.”

More space was absolutely necessary, with both their 2021 debut album It Won’t Always Be Like This and recent 2023 record Cuts and Bruises peaking at number one on the Irish charts.

The band's feel-good rock filled every nook and cranny of the Electric Arena as the EP attendees welcomed the Irishmen home with open arms.

The sky now completely dark beyond the confines of the tent, they ended with their biggest hit ‘My Honest Face’, a true crowd-pleaser, which had many excited girls on shoulders waving their arms above their heads to the beat- “Darling, I just can’t find my honest face!”

“It’s all you,” Hewson kept telling the crowd after almost every song, a humble notion that absolutely rang true.

Appearing in the slot directly after Inhaler was revered Bristol punk outfit Idles, who stormed the Electric Arena at with a fierce riot of sound and spirit.

Even in the vast expanse of the arena, there was a tangible pre-gig electricity as the tent began to fill with hardcore punks and curious passers by.

What makes Idles exceptional isn't just the passion they pour into their lyrics – it's the undeniable energy of their live performances. 'I’m Scum' was a showstopper. Bringing the crowd to their haunches, frontman Joe Tabolt had his audience eating out of his hand and instigating a unified chant of "fuck the king".

there was some more direct crowd involvement from guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan. The duo took turns diving into the crowd, riding waves of hands as they shredded on, despite being upside down at some points.

While their on-stage antics might scream impromptu punk, make no mistake – behind all the chaos is a tight, highly professional outfit.

In an era where live shows can often feel manufactured, Idles are a reminder of what genuine, raw, unfiltered passion looks like.

Copyright Miguel Ruiz

Closing the Electric Arena was The Coronas, who went one step further in cementing themselves and Electric Picnic legends. The tent was as the busiest it had been all weekend, with some diplomatic nudges needed to get inside the sardined venue.

It wasn’t just the regular lineup for the Dublin band either. The Coronas were accompanied by some of the crème de la crème of the Irish music scene.

Cian McSweeney of True Tides, All Tvvins' guitarist Lar Kaye, and O’Reilly’s sister, Róisín Ó, graced the stage and elevated the set.

Ending their set on the evocative 'San Diego Song', the roar from the crowd was deafening, so much so that it almost drowned out O’Reilly’s voice. But that’s the thing about The Coronas – their music isn't just theirs; it belongs to every fan and voice which collectively belts out their hits, old and new.

Scots hero Paolo Nutini was the second last act to tackle the main stage. The singer attracted a huge, Billie Eilish-sized crowd on the delightfully warm Saturday night

Nutini made good use of the screens creating a futuristic, Zoo-TV on the fritz atmosphere, juxtaposed with our man on an old rotary phone telling us how January made him shiver during the bass heavy opening of 'Aftermath' from 2022's great Last Night In The Bittersweet album.

The big surprises were the complete rearrangements of 'Pencil Full Of Lead' and 'Candy' from 2009's million-seller Sunny Side Up.

The method behind the madness of Nutini's rethink became apparent. There's always the risk of makingt some fans feel a bit put out with rearranged compositions. This was not the case this time round, if the singing voices were anything to go by.

The undeniable highlight was 'Iron Sky', where he sounded like Otis Redding fronting Massive Attack, and 'Shine A Light' was a good way to finish, complete with an electro-freak out at the end that hit you square in the chest.

"This means the fucking world to us" Nutini smiled. Taking his older sound and putting it through the blender to come up with something new is a brave move for a headlining set but he pulled it off with his usual effortless panache.

Bringing Saturday's main arena to a triumphant close was Fred Again...

Every once in a while, Irish festival bookers are ahead of the curve - Fred Again... ensured that those making the trek to Electric Picnic could enjoy a fresh relatively new-on-the-scene headliner.

With Fred offered sub-bass you could feel in your chest and an emotive sensibility you could feel in your heart.

Fred Again... at Electric Picnic 2023. Photos by Liam Murphy/Hot Press