Live Report: Moncrieff transports the Electric Arena with intimate tunes

When pop powerhouse Moncrieff steps into the Electric Picnic’s Electric Arena, the atmosphere of the tent changes immediately, all eyes stuck on the man of the hour, his presence filling the stage.

The feeling quickly settles in as he commands the room with barely any effort, a massive crowd of adoring fans singing along his every word without missing a single beat.

Moncrieff at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy.

With how emotionally stirring Moncrieff’s music is, it would be impossible to do anything but shout your heart out, passion pouring out of you in the same way it seems to burst out of the artist.

Simply calling his sound “sad” would be far from doing it justice though. Every minor chord is answered with a major one, as if sorrow and hope were fighting for dominance and creating something bright and incredibly rousing, as exemplified by his track ‘Young Man’ – a song about grief that still sounds like the promise of a better tomorrow, the crowd taking on the background vocals like an spontaneous church choir.

Moncrieff at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy.

Despite the size of the stage – and the audience — there’s something deeply intimate about Moncrieff’s EP set, like it’s simply an oversized hometown gig. The feeling comes to a peak when the artist announces “you’ll know this one” before getting onto the familiar chords of 'Linger' by The Cranberries: a cover which he performs softly, gently, true to the original without being repetitive.

Moncrieff at Electric Picnic 2024. Copyright Liam Murphy.

When Moncrieff gets off the stage, it’s with a large grin spread across his face, one that matches the rest of the audience’s and their star-filled gazes.