Electric Picnic 2016 // **Discussion Only / NO Ticket Sales / Requests** //

sadie06

I'm actually not surprised. I know of 7 newbies going this year, all in their 30's and 40's. For good or bad EP, is now established as mainstream.

It is so funny to me to get messages of utter confusion about the lineup. At least 4 of them literally had no idea what they were signing up for! :-)

Rfrip

Wonder will body and soul sell out soon then as a result

everlast75

Rfrip wrote: »

Wonder will body and soul sell out soon then as a result

I reckon they will be more released when the next list of bands are released

Walter E GO

sally cinnamon89 wrote: »

Is that because you wont be there mate

Nope, been going to EP since 2008 only ever missed one due to a bereavement. For me and my friends it's losing its luster a while now. More and more people and less and less enjoyment, from overzealous security with invasive searches, to being treated like a cash cow to be fleeced and herded from place to place, with rude young wans pushing pass you like you didn't exist and the messier and messier campsites, it's becoming oxygenated. What did it for me last year was having to wait for over an HOUR for an ambulance for a young lad who fell in front of me and knocked himself out by the Jerry Fish tent. An Hour FFS! Poor guy could've died. So it's off to sunnier climes for me in Portugal, this year. Time to move and let the young kids take over.

22michael44

surprised people are so surprised about this. EP has its demographic absolutely nailed down, like few festivals i can think of. so many people i know will go year-on-year, no matter who's on the line-up: the line-up essentially doesn't matter to them. combine that with the early birds and why would they wait to buy their tickets? it's become an absolute ritual with a certain demographic of people. you'll see it after the festival ends: no sooner has the dust settled and people are thinking of next year's; 'roll on 2016/2017' isn't a figure of speech, it's a mantra. it's not up for negotiation, it's being planned in the same way people meticulously plan what holidays to book.

it's really not my thing to be honest, and if anything it puts me off the festival because people ultimately aren't really going for the music; not to say they're not music fans, not to say they won't enjoy the music a lot more than a cynic like me, but ultimately it's not what it's about for them. it reminds me of that scene in Anchorman, 'we've been coming to this same party for 12 years, and in no way is that depressing!' and fair play to them i guess.

Bowlardo

Did anyone see the line up for the festival in bilbao.....like the picnic but with the pixies and arcade fire. €120 for the weekend ticket. some value

sputnick123

While I'm glad I have my ticket I do agree with some of the other posts. It has changed a lot for me the last couple of years. It felt really packed last year. It's no longer a boutique festival...hasn't been for a while so I think this might be my last year and time to find another one.

MJohnston

22michael44 wrote: »

it's really not my thing to be honest, and if anything it puts me off the festival because people ultimately aren't really going for the music; not to say they're not music fans, not to say they won't enjoy the music a lot more than a cynic like me, but ultimately it's not what it's about for them. it reminds me of that scene in Anchorman, 'we've been coming to this same party for 12 years, and in no way is that depressing!' and fair play to them i guess.

You're generalising too much there I'd say.

Particularly with the idea that people who go back year after year aren't doing it for the music. I'm sure there's a few who just go to get wrecked or whatever, but one of the things I can consider guaranteed about EP year after year is that the lower end of the line up will be jam packed full of incredible bands who are just starting out. That's why I know I'm going back next year already.

And it's also the kind of festival experience that evolves over time too. When I first went in 2005 it was all about the raw energy around the place, and the truly friendly vibe everyone had, then over time for me it became about the nighttime buzz of stumbling around the forest with some new mates you'd met because you'd pitched tents side by side.

Eventually I got into how much creative experimentation and effort went into the Body and Soul area, and having that sense of being utterly and wonderfully disconnected from the modern world. More recently it's been about appreciating the local musical talent, peeking into one of the small food tents and finding a Ukelele orchestra, or just checking out a band you'd barely heard of apart from that one great track on a playlist. This year, I'll hopefully be bringing my kid for the first of many more, and having another completely different yet still great experience. And I can't imagine my getting thru the Monday without saying "roll on 2017".

loudnoises89

I'm genuinely shocked this sold out. I didn't think the line-up would shift tickets that quickly. Kudos to the organisers.

belgowho

Didn't it sell out a couple of times last year and tickets went back on sale? I remember it was sold out and a few days before it started, more tickets went back on sale.

Question for possible legal heads in here. Last year the security (outsourced to UK) at the entrances to the main arena really did search people thick and thin. I had hands stuck down my pockets and searching through my wallets. It was certainly different to me from previous years. Are they allowed do searches like that? I thought you had to empty pockets/wallets yourself as anything else would be considered an "illegal" search?

scruff monkey

belgowho wrote: »

Didn't it sell out a couple of times last year and tickets went back on sale? I remember it was sold out and a few days before it started, more tickets went back on sale.

I'd imagine there's an element of tickets held back for corporate partners that are not taken up and then also installment plan payments that were never completed that get re-released into the wild.

Along with that they probably have tickets that they "forgot" down the back of the couch when drumming up demand.

MJohnston

belgowho wrote: »

Didn't it sell out a couple of times last year and tickets went back on sale? I remember it was sold out and a few days before it started, more tickets went back on sale.

Question for possible legal heads in here. Last year the security (outsourced to UK) at the entrances to the main arena really did search people thick and thin. I had hands stuck down my pockets and searching through my wallets. It was certainly different to me from previous years. Are they allowed do searches like that? I thought you had to empty pockets/wallets yourself as anything else would be considered an "illegal" search?

I am not a lawyer, but: I'd imagine their right to refuse admission allow them to give you a simple choice between "let me search your wallet" and "okay, we wont search it but you're not getting in"

MJohnston

Also, as for why they'd add to the lineup even with a sellout? First they still have to get people to actually come on the weekend of the festival so they can sell booze, merch, and food. More importantly though, they want people to come NEXT year too.

22michael44

MJohnston wrote: »

You're generalising too much there I'd say.

Particularly with the idea that people who go back year after year aren't doing it for the music. I'm sure there's a few who just go to get wrecked or whatever, but one of the things I can consider guaranteed about EP year after year is that the lower end of the line up will be jam packed full of incredible bands who are just starting out. That's why I know I'm going back next year already.

And it's also the kind of festival experience that evolves over time too. When I first went in 2005 it was all about the raw energy around the place, and the truly friendly vibe everyone had, then over time for me it became about the nighttime buzz of stumbling around the forest with some new mates you'd met because you'd pitched tents side by side.

Eventually I got into how much creative experimentation and effort went into the Body and Soul area, and having that sense of being utterly and wonderfully disconnected from the modern world. More recently it's been about appreciating the local musical talent, peeking into one of the small food tents and finding a Ukelele orchestra, or just checking out a band you'd barely heard of apart from that one great track on a playlist. This year, I'll hopefully be bringing my kid for the first of many more, and having another completely different yet still great experience. And I can't imagine my getting thru the Monday without saying "roll on 2017".

yeah i'm definitely generalising, but generalising is fun. all sorts of people go and there'll be a considerable amount of newbies in any given year. but it's the hardcore year-on-year element that provides EP with that cushion where they'll never really have to worry about whether the line-up is doing it for everyone or whether they'll break even. it's amusing to see the griping on their facebook page when you know it just doesn't matter at the end of the day.

i can't imagine going to EP and not enjoying it, and like you say there's always going to be something on the smaller stages. however the flipside of that laissez-faire approach is that i've seen some really interesting acts on the smaller stages that were woefully underattended, to the point i felt kind of bad for them. that wouldn't really happen at other festivals where people are more 'engaged' with the line-up, for want of a better phrase.

lurleen lumpkin

Not to keep banging on but does anyone have any info on the red bull stage? I thought it was pretty telling that the stage wasn't listed in the footer of the announcement, then when I checked the site red bull wasn't listed in the sponsors section. I've noticed in the last few days they've removed the red bull stage blurb from the website too.

Aside from my own personal attachment to the forest rave, it's such a magnet for thousands to descend after the main stages, I wonder what the repercussions would be if there wasn't anywhere for folk to head en masse after hours. Especially if talk of another increase in capacity is true.

Oasis_Dublin

Bring back the recession. A larger attendance, selling out more quickly. The end is nigh...

MJohnston

lurleen lumpkin wrote: »

Not to keep banging on but does anyone have any info on the red bull stage? I thought it was pretty telling that the stage wasn't listed in the footer of the announcement, then when I checked the site red bull wasn't listed in the sponsors section. I've noticed in the last few days they've removed the red bull stage blurb from the website too.

Aside from my own personal attachment to the forest rave, it's such a magnet for thousands to descend after the main stages, I wonder what the repercussions would be if there wasn't anywhere for folk to head en masse after hours. Especially if talk of another increase in capacity is true.

They'll definitely have *something* in the forest as it's been a fixture from the start, but no better idea than you who will be running it. To be honest, I'd love to see them make more of the forest spaces ala Body and Soul's festival. Give Mother a stage, and find another place for Wigwam or District 8 or whoever. No need for big names 90% of the time imo.

Fatfrog

StickyMcGinty wrote: »

That's unbelievable that it's sold out already

Agree with the poster above re: Headline acts - why would they bother adding anyone that's going to cost serious €€€? Unless they're 90% in with an act and just on the cusp of an announce

Disagree, firstly I think all head liners will be pretty much confirmed (Although not published) at this stage.
Secondly they're not fools, sure they could just leave the line up as is and completely burn the faithful ticket holders, but why kill the cash cow!! FR are in this for the next 8 years or so, they'll build on this, I think their goal is to have a festival that sells out in October before any acts are booked. Giving them 55000x€220=12.1M for a full 10 months!!


I think they will be releasing a few more big names.

scruff monkey

Fatfrog wrote: »

I think their goal is to have a festival that sells out in October before any acts are booked. Giving them 55000x€220=12.1M for a full 10 months!!

I think they will be releasing a few more big names.

Pretty much this, it's the biggest festival here by a mile, FR/Benn used to run Glastonbury and I'd say he's aiming to replicate the trick of selling out before a single name is announced every year.

There's a lot of very very bitter souls on the EP bookface page at the moment.

lurleen lumpkin

MJohnston wrote: »

They'll definitely have *something* in the forest as it's been a fixture from the start, but no better idea than you who will be running it. To be honest, I'd love to see them make more of the forest spaces ala Body and Soul's festival. Give Mother a stage, and find another place for Wigwam or District 8 or whoever. No need for big names 90% of the time imo.

Absolutely agree, I'm not one for the big names either. I find most of the time it's the local/Dublin/Belfast djs whose sets I enjoy so much more than the big names. Great shout on giving Mother djs etc more scope.

I just mean in general if rbma is no more, they'll need something somewhere to replace it.

scruff monkey

Maybe they'll replace it with the competition, a Monster Music stage


with music made by real monsters!

Rough Sleeper

MJohnston wrote: »

And I can't imagine my getting thru the Monday without saying "roll on 2017".

If you're spending your Monday after a festival asking for more, rather than begging for death, you've ****ed up very, very badly somewhere along the way.

PabloAndRoy

MJohnston wrote: »

They'll definitely have *something* in the forest as it's been a fixture from the start, but no better idea than you who will be running it. To be honest, I'd love to see them make more of the forest spaces ala Body and Soul's festival. Give Mother a stage, and find another place for Wigwam or District 8 or whoever. No need for big names 90% of the time imo.

Tír na gCasta was fecking excellent back in the day.

Lemsiper

Think I'm going to take it easy on the Friday this year :pac:

BadTurtle

Love that that post is coming from someone called Lemsiper.

Reggie noble

Selling out quicker every year , fair play . I don't know the inner workings of big festivals but I'd hope it doesn't affect them adding quality acts for this year instead of saying 'it's sold out now , who gives a **** what we add'

I've been to EP for the past 5 years straight and a couple of times when it first started , only taking a break when I went abroad to work . I'm not overly impressed by the first announcement this year , before anyone jumps down my neck saying its all about the weekend , sorry but for me I have the craic at any festival , although originally it's all about the lineup .
I'm going to sit tight until the next announcement n if it's as underwhelming as the first announcement il have no problem selling my tickets for over the odds to pay for a trip abroad to a diff festival , make a nice profit now

UsedToWait

il have no problem selling my tickets for over the odds to pay for a trip abroad to a diff festival , make a nice profit now

I hope you don't have a Toutless account, for when it suits you, as a buyer, to take advantage of the decency of people who refuse to profit on the back of their fellow gig goers..

Reggie noble

UsedToWait wrote: »

I hope you don't have a Toutless account, for when it suits you, as a buyer, to take advantage of the decency of people who refuse to profit on the back of their fellow gig goers..

I don't even know what toutless is , I just said above I've been to EP loads of times but I'm at the stage now where I'm over it , the lineup this year so far isn't a big draw for me . I'm going to see what other acts are announced later and If I don't like them il sell
By the way I can't stand people on here crying for months they can't afford tickets before it sells out , I buy mine every year the day after the previous festival in September , if u can't afford them at 160 a pop or the instalment plan then maybe u should rethink ur financial situation n not go at all .

Synode

Reggie noble wrote: »

il have no problem selling my tickets for over the odds to pay for a trip abroad to a diff festival , make a nice profit now

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Reggie noble

Synode wrote: »

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Why ? If u had anything to sell would u undercut yourself ? Baloney !!