Electric Picnic Live Report: The Last Dinner Party glimmers at 3 Music Stage

The Last Dinner Party are an act that’s hard to pin down. With only two songs yet out on Spotify, they’ve grown due to a solid social media marketing campaign and good old-fashioned word of mouth. And yet, against what looked like pretty big odds for the UK-based girl group, they were met with ear-shattering crowds during their mid-afternoon slot.

They entered the stage with incredibly dramatic orchestral music reminiscent of Andrew Lloyd Webber blasting around them. And indeed, when singer Abigail Morris floated onto the stage last, she matched that vibe perfectly dressed in a ghostly white gown.

And then they were off– ‘Burn Alive’ was first up, the first of many yet unreleased songs of the afternoon. People didn’t know the lyrics, but Morris delivered them with such confidence and enthusiasm that you couldn’t help but get swept along with what is clearly a developed vision.

The Last Dinner Party at Electric Picnic. Darragh Bell.

Their third song was a track called ‘Gihua’ (Albanian for ‘tongue’), which was introduced as a song about not knowing much of her “mother tongue” by keyboardist Aurora Nischevi. Five-part harmonies filled the tent, as crowds swayed back and forth to its dreamy soundscape.

The band is made up of a group of school friends, and that dynamic between the members was evident. Bassist Georgia Davies, with a shirt with “Ireland” proudly emblazoned on the front, was "iced" at one point: when surprised by a Smirnoff Ice, according to the rules of the game, she had to drink it all. The crowd chanted “down it” as she bravely drank, yelling out a triumphant “FOR IRELAND” as she finished.

The Last Dinner Party at Electric Picnic. Darragh Bell.

When they finally launched into one of their released tracks ‘Sinner’ halfway through their set, they seemed shocked by the number of people who were able to sing along to every word. Morris traded lead vocals with guitarist Lizzie Mayland for the song’s second verse, and the song ended with a cheer that lasted almost as long as the song had. During the cheering, they all traded incredulous looks with each other, as if it had freshly struck them that they had made it.

“You guys have been the best fucking crowd all summer!” declared Morris, to even bigger cheers.

The Last Dinner Party at Electric Picnic. Darragh Bell.

Finally, they ended their set with their biggest hit ‘Nothing Matters’, which was only released a few months ago but created a huge energy in the tent as Morris bounced around the stage, balancing on amps and hanging off of structures. And it’s the last festival show for them this year, but as they departed there was an undeniable sense that this incredible crowd was just the beginning, that we were all there to witness the beginning of something truly unstoppable.

Stay tuned for more live reports, photos and all things Electric Picnic, live from Stradbally.