Live Report: Suki Waterhouse enchants Electric Picnic’s 3 Music Stage with powerfully intense set

On an empty 3 Music Stage, bird songs and forest sounds float around the tent, musicians slowly entering the stage before offering a huge, larger than life drop on guitar, bass and drums.

As the chilled out, glistening intro of ‘Lose Control’ fills up the space, the woman of the hour Suki Waterhouse enters in sunglasses, flowy cardigan and leather skirt, effortlessly cool as the wind machine makes her hair float around her shoulders.

During her 45 minute set, Waterhouse explores a wide array of sounds, alternating between powerful rock-tinged numbers and more straight forward pop songs. On the track ‘OMG’, she offers sulfurous and fun soundscapes that set the crowd into a dancing frenzy, while ‘Blackout Drunk’, a tongue-in-cheek but more stripped back number, elicits tent-wide clapping and singing.

On ‘My Fun’, her "favorite song of the set”, the musician delivers sweet and romantic textures, while ‘Joanne’ is a great representation of her signature sound: atmospheric, soft and languorous, making the body feel like it’s floating.

In a deliciously pretty rendition of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, Waterhouse manages to emotionally move the entirety of the packed-out tent, her vocals barely audible over the powerful makeshift choir.

For the rest of her set and until closer ‘Good Looking’, Waterhouse offers atmospheric sounds and ethereal beauty, incredible stage presence and wonderfully charming attitude, making for an unforgettable first day set.