As some of you may or may not be aware, the weekend just gone was the infamous Electric Picnic weekend in Stradbally Hall, County Laoise.
Not an experienced festival goer, I was excited to receive the news that I could work at the festival which meant a free ticket to see what all the hype was about. I work in promotions and was tasked with the role of brand ambassador for the Electric Ireland Throwback party tent. We were treated with plenty of rain, drunk antics and great music. A job has never been so interesting!
On arrival, I have to admit I was surprised at the scale of the event. I always knew festivals were big, but my god this one had a full fun fair and a circus not to mention performance tents, eateries and a massive main stage for the likes of Gavin James, Noel Gallagher and Lana Del Ray.
Our job was fairly straight forward; promote the brand, hand out freebies and attract people into the tent. It was the perks that accompanied it that made my weekend. A free pass to the festival, hotel accommodation, taxi cards and shelter when the rain started coming in bucket loads.
The festival vibe does seem a load of fun I must admit. However, I’m not too sure how I would cope as a camper. Drenched and covered in mud is not an ideal situation and the thought of all those poor freezing soles going back to spend the night in a tent made me so thankful for my duvet and warm room back at the hotel.
Work was out at 10 every night and then it was time to take advantage of the wristband and all it offered. One night was spent indulging in a bit if alcohol (although not too much as it was back to the grind at 10 the next morning! ) and bopping along at the main stage to the Chemical Brothers and dancing to the DJ in the Heineken Sound Atlas Tent.
It was one performance in particular that did it for me though and convinced me that festivals may be worth it after all. Years and Years.They played on the Saturday night in the Electric Arena and it was one of the best live performances I’ve seen. We had been talking about it all day at work, geared up by getting into the festival mood with some face paint and pushed our way to the barriers to be front and centre. Ollie, the lead singer, really is a special talent. So smooth and slick in army print dungarees and squatting all over the shop, his voice hypnotised the whole tent and had us all cheering and dancing.
Working has never been so fun. I would recommend sourcing yourself a job at any event as you definitely won’t regret it.
A piece advice from a sober observer to all future festival goers to end. It will rain. It will be mucky and it will be cold. Be prepared and for god’s sake bring a portable charger block because people working promotions do not want to answer a million questions about whether they have a charger station or not!
A great opportunity, a nice pay check and a fab time, Electric Picnic really served me well this weekend and I can’t wait to hopefully be staffed for next years gig.
L U C E 