Tom Dunne: Electric Picnic changed the idea of what an Irish festival could be

The late John Reynolds unveiled his visionary event back in 2004. We owe him a deep debt of gratitude

Fri, 01 Sep, 2023 - 12:28

Tom Dunne is a music-lover extraordinaire who, as well as presenting radio and TV shows, can also be seen in the wild as the lead singer with Something Happens.

The Electric Picnic is moving. It won’t be in its traditional first weekend in September next year. It won’t mark the end of summer and the reopening of schools. But the mid-August event will still be “exactly the same”. Not since my parents said they’d be “living apart but still married” have I felt this nervous.

Given that next year will be its 20th anniversary and that for a long time, it has sold out before a band was booked, I expect that next year a good 20 to 30 thousand, possibly myself included, will accidentally still make the trip to Stradbally in September. It could be late Sunday before most of us notice there is no music.