PICNIC IS HERE: Noel Gallagher, LCD Soundsystem & The 1975 star in Festival Music Friday

It’s a special Picnic themed Free Music Friday as we bid a fond ‘adieu’ to Trinity Street and head down en masse to Stradbally for three days of extreme festival fun. If you’re Laois-bound yourself, make sure to pop into the Hot Press Chatroom, which will be in interview and acoustic session action throughout the weekend.

Hitting the Electric Picnic Other Voices stage at 8.30pm on Sunday – and interviewed in the brand new Hot Press with Picture This on the cover – Margaret Glaspy demonstrates why she’s currently such a hot property with this superb Tiny Desk Concert. The tunes are lifted from the Californian’s must-have Emotions And Math album.

Judging by their Paredes de Coura headliner last week in Portugal, LCD Soundsystem will be in killer form on Saturday when they take to the Picnic Main Stage. They were pretty damn amazing at T In The Park too. Avoid clicking if you don’t like spoilers!

Also fully festival fit at the moment are Noel Gallagher and his extremely High Flying Birds. This is them playing to a massive crowd at the recent Lollapalooza festival stop-off in Chile. As darkness fell on Santiago, lots of Oasis tunes got an airing alongside newer favourites. We doubt it’s escaped your attention that Mr. G is making his Picnic debut on Saturday night.

If their storming of Reading and Leeds last weekend is anything to go by, The 1975 are set to make a massive EP impact on Friday night.

Matt and the boys are on warm-up duty for Lana Del Rey who’s become the consummate festival star turn of late. It won’t be quits as intimate as her Vicar St. show a few years back but we’re still betting on Ms. Grant bringing the metaphorical house down at EP.

Set to give Sunday’s headliners a run for their backstage rider are Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats who were in full-on boogie freak out mode recently at Dover, Delaware’s Firefly Festival.

To the streams now and Portland ambient man Eluvium, Afro funkers The Frightnrs, rising Latino stars Y La Bamba, Spanglish folk popster Gaby Moreno, Okkervil River’s flight of extreme musical fancy, and legendary sonic soundscaper Daniel Lanois are all available for pre-release listens courtesy of the good NPR folk.

Wilco whet appetites for September 9’s Schmilco album with ‘Someone To Lose’, a quirky glam rock gem that emphasises their playful side.

It’s a hearty Free Music Friday “howaya!” to Communist Girlfriend, a Minnesota outfit who make a gorgeous close harmony pop noise pitched halfway between The National and The Beach Boys. Also tasty and new from Noise Trade are a digital A-side from Brooklynite Arum Rae who’s got a touch of the Amy Winehouses about her and Nicole Atkins, a Nashville Americana merchant who’s making serious Stateside waves.

Netflix have released this teaser to confirm that a second season of Stranger Things will be available for your 2017 bingeing delectation.

The free [link]adultswim.com/music/singles-2016[/link] tunes keep on coming with this atmospheric beaut from Health.

Florida punks Caffiends! have loads of messy fun covering their fave tunes from the likes of AFI, The Nerves, Andrew WK and The Ramones. More Dickies than the Sex Pistols – ask your grandparents! – they join Napalm Death in definitely not appearing on Nathan Carter’s new RTÉ TV show.

And that is where Free Music Friday downs mouse, jumps in the Hot Press jalopy and speeds its way to Stradbally. Have the biggest blast of your lives and keep those links coming to @stuartclark66