Live Report: Patron saints of doom folk Lankum turn the Electric Arena into hallowed ground

Lankum took the Electric Arena stage to roaring applause, shifting into their usual positions each beside a hoard of instruments, but accompanied by a full band for an Electric Picnic set that packed a punch.

Lankum at Electric Picnic. 08/17/24. Copyright Gary Ibbotson

The patron saints of doom folk - Radie Peat, Darragh Lynch, Ian Lynch and Cormac MacDiarmada - were joined onstage by honorary "fifth member" John 'Spud' Murphy and drummer John Dermody. They kicked things off with 'The Wild Rover', a mammoth wall of sound that descended further and further into heavenly sonic hell. Then came 'The New York Trader', Ian prefacing the song with a middle-finger namechecking the far-right. It was an astonishing rendition, each harmony braiding aural plaits in the fog above with MacDiarmada, in particular, giving a jaw-dropping performance on the fiddle.

Lankum at Electric Picnic. 08/17/24. Copyright Gary Ibbotson

By turns harrowing and sublime, Radie Peat’s iridescent, steel-wooled croon and Ian's sinister punk vocals were at the centre of those songs – tapping into their bones, then cutting wider. Emboldened by Cormac MacDiarmada's hair-raising fiddle, it felt like a spell-binding incantation. As the sonic doom reached an apocalyptic fever pitch, friends and loved ones held each other close, eyes wide as the rapture closed in.

Lankum at Electric Picnic. 08/17/24. Copyright Gary Ibbotson

Then came 'Bear Creek', the resplendent offering, traced in triumphal arches and supernumerary rainbows. Where loved ones earlier held on to each other, they now held hands high and danced with buoyancy and optimism. From there, the band closed things off with 'Go Dig My Grave', a gale force of a dirge, where Radie Peat gave an astonishing a capella opener, with perfect pitch and rhythm despite the booming bass from Calvin Harris' set a few hundred meters away. It was a testament to Peat's unfathomable vocal and musical prowess, who could deliver the greatest performance you'd ever seen without a flinch or tremble. 

Lankum at Electric Picnic. 08/17/24. Copyright Gary Ibbotson

It was a set you hoped would never end, with Lankum constantly proving that not only are they one of the strongest trad folk outfits on the scene, but they're here for the long haul (and how lucky we are).