Live Report: Amble warm up Electric Picnic main stage with delicate folk tunes

One of the most unique features of festival gigs is the capacity for the weather to influence the mood of a gig. For Amble’s Electric Picnic main stage show, this Saturday’s moody sky accompanies the setlist so perfectly you would have thought it was planned.

Under light drizzling rain, the band kick off their set with the enchanting trad-tinged number ‘Shallow River’. Facing the gargantuan crowd stretching out for meters upon meters, frontman Robbie Cunningham can’t help but chuckle: “fuck me, that’s a lot of people!”

As if on queue, the wind powerfully rises with the rousingly moving ‘Little White Chapel’, where Amble’s signature delightful banjo riffs balance the intensity of the track with ease, without diminishing it in the slightest.

Following with their new track ‘Hand Me Down’, the band further demonstrate their capacity to deliver powerfully emotional tracks, even when exploring more stripped back soundscapes, fiddle and banjo taking the centre stage for a delectable, 4-minute marriage.

“Last year,” Cunningham offers in a moment of quietness, “we played Electric Arena, and it was a huge moment for us.” Comparatively, this year’s crowd is significantly more impressive, and it is no wonder why the band keeps exchanging ecstatic looks, like they can’t quite believe what’s happening to them.

It is just as the Saturday afternoon sun creeps its way back into Stradbally that Amble kick off the boisterous side of their setlist, with the pretty, stripped back number ‘Sam Hall’ and its delicate harmonies, a larger than life rainbow shining behind the right side of the stage. Follows the beautifully romantic track “One Man’s Love” and its euphoria inducing melodies.

By the time the lovely, gently warm, ‘Jersey Giant’ kicks off, the bright sun is in full blast. The following maximalist folk tunes, bright and boisterous, fit right in the newfound warmth of the gig.

In the midst of Electric Picnic’s day 2, Amble offer a deeply heart-warming set that leaves the whole crowd ready for an infinitely joyful evening.