Despite quality offerings in an array of genres to cater to every taste, from hip-hop to electronica, musically, rock seemed to be having a moment on Saturday at Electric Picnic.
A bevy of Irish and international guitar-bands featured on the line-up all day, leaving festival-goers to celebrate the final day of summer by rocking quite literally around the clock.
Non-rock sets of note included razor-sharp Dublin hip-hop duo MangoXMathman at the Body & Soul stage, electronic wizardry from Canadian DJ Richie Hawtin and Four Tet in the Electric Arena, and a well-curated and varied selection of emerging acts at the Three Made By Music stage in the woods.
But elsewhere, from the Main Stage to the smaller tents, rock music of all descriptions emerged as the theme.
Perhaps next year festival organisers might want to pin a sign up in the dressing rooms of international touring acts saying “You are in Stradbally, Co Laois”.
Saturday’s mainstage headliners were New York garage rock superstars The Strokes, whose lead singer, Julian Casablancas, was amongst several international performers, including Billie Eilish, CharliXCX and Christine and the Queens, to greet the crowd with cries of “Hello, Dublin!” and “It’s great to be in Dublin!”
Satisfyingly heavy Dublin six-piece Thumper brought their self-proclaimed “sonic wall of death” to the Body & Soul stage in the evening, while an afternoon set at Rankin’s Wood saw Inhaler draw a crowd, not only for their music but for the curiosity factor - front-man Elijah Hewson, Bono’s son, faces constant but inevitable musings as to whether he’s the pretender to the Irish rock’n’roll throne.
Twelve hours after Inhaler, Otherkin, who recently surprised fans by announcing their impending split after seven years that included a Choice prize nomination and a support slot for Guns'N'Roses at Slane Castle in 2017, got a warm reception as they played their last ever festival set as a band late at night on the Salty Dog stage, finishing at 4am.
