Live Report: Aaron Rowe gently moves Electric Picnic’s main stage

Under the early Saturday afternoon sun at Electric Picnic, Irish folk act Aaron Rowe takes onto the Main Stage all smiles, guitar in hands, a look of disbelief plastered on his face.

From the first notes of his gentle, stripped-back set, it is clear that the up-and-comer has earned his steady way towards widespread acclaim, and the biggest crowd of his career. Only accompanied by a fiddle, his guitar and his incredibly powerful voice, Rowe offers a compelling series of glisteningly stirring tunes.

Aaron Rowe at Electric Picnic. Copyright Liam Murphy

Even though the set is beautifully stripped-back, his stage presence and sound appear larger than life, as infinitely emotional as it is riveting. In between tracks, Rowe constantly appears to have a chuckle stuck in his throat, charmingly fun despite the somber tone of his writing. Early into the gig, he points out to the crowd laughing: “this is the funniest thing I have ever seen,” before the main stage camera fixes itself on an Irish flag, with Rowe’s picture printed in the centre of the tricolor.

Aaron Rowe at Electric Picnic. Copyright Liam Murphy

“It’s an absolute honour to be playing here,” he offers between two tracks, admitting that he is “a little bit hungover, so it probably adds to the emotion, but I’ve been doing this music thing for a really long time…” even though choked up tears don’t allow him to finish his sentence, the message is clear: Rowe has been on the path to take over this kind of stage for a long time, and even though it could not be more deserved, he still sort of can’t believe it.

Rowe approaches the end of his set with one of the first songs he ever released, the gloriously powerful ‘Hey Ma’, right after offering a hello to his ma, standing into the crowd somewhere, undoubtedly proud.

To close off the show, Rowe delivers a striking rendition of The Dubliners’ ‘The Old Triangle’, in a move that would be repeated by fellow Main Stage act Kneecap later in the day, and leaves his audience feeling just a little warm and fuzzy, undoubtedly proud of the way the musician has climbed the ladder to get to this incredibly emotional Saturday Main Stage set.