The Body & Soul Village will of course be once more pulsating to its own rhythm. Imagine a breathing, living, pulsating, nature inspired realm filled with beauty, art, performance, cutting edge theatre, holistic therapies, yoga, green workshops, luscious gardens, tipis & log fires, ambient bean bag lounging, acoustic vibes, night time installations, skilled artisans set free across the landscape to inspire and be inspired, an eclectically programmed Chill Stage featuring a mix of folk, world, classical, electonic, reggae, roots and hip wiggling funk – along with the "MerkaBar" geo-dome, indulging you with the best in down tempo grooves, visual art, trapese and sumptuous décor.
World renowned performance art troupe, Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque crawls out of the Los Angeles underground art & music scene once again to frolic in their favorite Irish wonderland…xtravagant, other-worldly creatures from beyond create mystical playgrounds of fire and air.
Also traveling from the US and mainland Europe are many creative collectives all of whom will be designing bigger and more colourful art installations around the festival site, including David Best who will be building and burning his exquisite Temple of Truth, as seen at Burning Man.
Music & Art are just one just two aspects of the many faces of Electric Picnic, and this year we are expanding the Spoken Word area; The Leviathan Think Tank is back to nourish the addled minds of festival-goers with world class poets from the UK, US, South Africa and Australia, one-act theatre from Little John Nee and Vendetta Theatre Co. hosted by Marty Mulligan. Major debates, hosted by broadcaster David McWilliams, will reflect on the political and cultural legacy 40 years on from 1968 – the high-watermark of 1960s counterculture – featuring some key figures from the era; the future of the Irish language and the state of the music industry. There will be readings from top Irish and international authors, Salon du Chat "speed-debating", comedy news quizshows and a series of special one-on-one interviews, including one with Henry Rollins. RTE’s Ryan Tubridy will host a new Sunday Morning Show with guests taking a hungover and jaundiced view of the newspapers and chewing the fat from the night before. There will be politically-tinged music from Paddy Cullivan and the Camembert Quartet, Jinx Lennon, Captain Moonlight and White Cholera as well as other very special guests and we’ll have a sneak preview of a brand new series of Langerland’s satirical cartoons, taking in such subjects as the Irish language, the GAA, the IRA, the Gardaí and the Celtic Tiger. Also back is the The Word poetry tent….and much much more food for thought.
There will also be more theatre such as new additions to the festival ‘thisispopbaby‘, a fabulous new space, where debauched glamour, fairy tale excess and fun is the name of the game. Each day the glittering lounge will take you on a journey from a whimsical kitsch Never Never Land to a raw and raunchy Pop Art Palace. Featuring very special guest star Panti, Queen of the Picnic, this sparkling jewel of new pop-art and design culminates every night with a Frock ‘n’ Roll drag show and a down ‘n’ dirty PopClub. Our hosts and hostesses will meet, greet and sweet talk you in this bastion of high fashion, high camp and high excess. You’re Alice baby, and this is Wonderland.
