Free & Easy gears up

Four Irish acts performing at Electric Picnic will be performing free shows at the Crawdaddy venue in Dublin in advance of the festival. The Free & Easy dates in association with Heineken music are as follows:

HALFSET - Wednesday August 26
Support: The 202s, Holy Roman Empire.
Doors: 8pm

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THE INFOMATICS - Friday August 28
Support: The Bionic Rats, MC Ophelia & DJ Moschops, Cullo & Yound Dub.
Doors: 11:30pm ‘til late

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8 BALL - Saturday August 29
Support: tba.
Doors: 8pm

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CAP PAS CAP - Wednesday September 2
Support: tba.
Doors: 8pm

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Halfset are the winners of last year’s Irish Independent's 'Irish album of the year' award, and are Choice Music Prize nominees for 2009. Support on the night comes in the form of tipped electronic duo The 202s, and Chicago indie rockers Holy Roman Empire.

Ireland's hottest hip-hop/rap group The Infomatics are recent winners of RTE’s The Raw Sessions 'Artist of The Year' competition. The group have been getting some seriously good press recently, including a Hot Press cover shoot. Support for their August 28 show includes Bionic Rats, MC Ophelia, DJ Moschops and more.

Meteor Award nominated Dublin outfit 8 Ball will be warming up for the Electric Picnic but also the Autumn release of their new album 'With All Your Friends'. They will play the Dublin venue on August 29.

And finally, Dublin quartet Cap Pas Cap, who were previously highlighted in the Irish Times 'Top 50 Irish Bands Right now' will headline proceedings on September 2.