Electric Picnic 2026: Saturday Round-Up

A wet start to Saturday morning wasn't enough to put a dampener on round two of the festivities at Electric Picnic.

While rockstar turns from the likes of Zara Larsson, Sombr, Lewis Capaldi on Friday may seem like a act to follow, the action was kicked off in fine style on Main Stage by none other than Tinie Tempah, who was joined onstage by a host of young Irish talent — a true reflection of what this festival is all about.

The number of people jumping along to his opening track ‘Earthquake’, a song he released alongside Labrinth in 2012, made it feel like there might actually was an earthquake up in here.

He’s teamed up with City Stages, who aim to give buskers and emerging artists all over Ireland a chance to perform at venues with a bit more foot traffic than their high street or local pub, and brings out a host of young talent —Imani Jade and Rian McCauley — for their first taste of that Main Stage Energy.

Across the way waking up the Electric Arena was Violet Grohl, the next generation in rock'n,roll saving us from the rain and treating us to a gloriously grungy session.

Violet Grohl at Electric Picnic on August 29, 2026. Copyright Liam Murphy/hotpress.com

For an artist who's inevitably introduced through her famous Foo Fighter father's surname, the 20-year-old spends her set making a compelling case for being judged on the music instead.

The resemblance is there, but so is something distinctly her own, as she casually unleashed some genuinely astonishing vocals over crashing riffs.

Despite a bit of return from the rain, Role Model and his band appeared very relaxed  as they took their turn, as though they’re in someone’s sitting room instead of the main stage at Ireland’s biggest festival.

His punchy, country and western twinged sound is consistent throughout the set- it feels very honky-tonk, homemade rock and roll- I wouldn’t be surprised if they could do a great cover of ‘Great Balls of Fire’.

The band’s simple setup and an appreciation for clean guitar tone makes the set feel somewhat ramshackle, but in a way that contributes to the charm and doesn’t detract from the quality in the slightest.

Sadly the rain seems to have robbed us of an onstage guest for 'Sally', but the love the crowd feel for it is apparent and it was a perfect cherry on top of what was a consistently fun set.

After a remarkably Irish route to a burgeoning career: a pub, a Saturday night, a chance encounter with a global star (Lewis Capaldi), and a last minute addition to a stacked Electric Picnic line up, Aaron Rowe packed out the Rankin's Wood tent on Saturday afternoon.

There is something unmistakably starry about him - a ballad singer with the ability to turn personal stories into enormous communal moments.

Playing a mix of original tunes and classicly Irish covers — including 'The Rocky Road to Dublin' and Christy Moore's 'Ride On' — the young Rowe bade farewell to the crowd and left us with the feeling that we've caught someone at the very beginning of something much bigger.

The Mary Wallopers whipped up the Main Stage with their typical raucous and madcap energy (with the crowd pelting each other with woodchip from the arena floor), while Damien Dempsey turned Irishness into a celebration of everyone at the Electric Arena, walking out onstage wielding a spear in one hand, his guitar (an equally dangerous weapon) in the other.

Damien Dempsey at Electric Picnic on August 29, 2026. Copyright Saoirse McAllorum/hotpress.com

Musically, it's a light, bright set, packed with instrumental brilliance and introspective lyrics.

Emotionally, it carries considerably more weight, his songs rooted in working-class experience, mental health and emotional resilience, but there is nothing insular about them, and his stories are specific enough to feel personal and universal enough for the entire tent to claim them.

The homegrown heroes keep winning the day, as CMAT and her Very Sexy CMAT Band come out at 9pm what was surely the performance of the festival on the Main Stage.

It was a surprisingly short set list for the hour and 15 minute time slot — just nine songs — but she tells us she has scheduled time for chatting because there's nothing worse apparently then a band that just stands on stage not talking.

If her voice sounds a little tired due to the bout of gastroenteritis that forced her to cancel her Friday night appearence at Rock en Seine in Paris (coupled with a thunderstorm cancelled flight), the Meath-born sensation was well recovered enough to maintain trademark the physicality of her shows as she danced and high kicked her way through the set.

CMAT on the Electric Picnic Main Stage, Saturday August 29. Copyright Liam Murphy

The size and the love of the crowd leave all without doubt that CMAT is one of Irelands biggest and best stars right now, and probably one of very few people to make it a tough act to follow for Gorillaz on the closing set,

But follow they do, with the typical visual and vocal feast we've come to expect from the mind of Damon Albarn.

It's a mixed bag of a setlist chronologically, jumping back to tracks from their eponymous 2001 debut album, sprinkling in a bit of the Demon Days stuff and then a brace of hits off Plastic Beach, before cycling back into The Mountain singles, but it keeps the energy flowing, as do the many guest appearnces from regular Gorillaz contributors like Bootie Brown, Leee John and Moonchild Sanlley.

The night finished on a bittersweet note over at Salty Dog, as Thumper rocked out for their final, farewell Electric Picnic appearence before their last ever show in Dublin's Button Factory on October 25, closing out a fun-filled Day Two here at Stradbally (with a far better forecast than expected).

You can find all of the Hot Press coverage from the entire Electric Picnic 2026 weekend right here.