Electric Picnic 2009 was the sixth edition of the Electric Picnic festival to take place. The three-day event took place on the weekend of Friday 4 September, Saturday 5 September and Sunday 6 September at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. The festival was launched on 15 April 2009 and featured performances from artists such as Orbital, The Flaming Lips, Brian Wilson, Basement Jaxx, Madness, Klaxons, Bell X1, Fleet Foxes and MGMT.
Orbital and The Flaming Lips released albums prior to their appearances. Dan Deacon was replaced in the line-up by The Jimmy Cake the week before.
Build-up
Takeover
Prior to 2009, the festival was jointly organised between Pod Concerts and Aiken Promotions. The British promoter Festival Republic bought out the share of Aiken Promotions in Electric Picnic in March 2009, joining in a partnership with Pod Concerts to organise the 2009 event. Festival Republic is itself 50.1% owned by Live Nation who are the biggest concert and festival promoter in the world so this move is now seen by many as a positive move for the festival.
Tickets
On Friday 10 October 2008, a limited number of ‘Early Bird’ tickets went on sale at the 2008 price of €199, which includes camping. The early bird tickets sold out in days. Tickets for the festival then went on sale on 17 April 2009 at 09:00. The Family Ticket, which was introduced for Electric Picnic 2008, returned, allowing two adults and as many as four children to live in the Family Campsite for the weekend. The festival was declared a sell-out by promoter John Reynolds.
Launch
Electric Picnic 2009 was launched on 15 April 2009 in Harcourt Street with Alice in Wonderland and Bell X1. The initial announcement included forty-seven acts. Artist booker Declan Forde stated that shower and lavatory conditions will be a top priority for the 2009 festival. Amongst the first acts announced were Orbital, The Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx, Madness, Klaxons, Bell X1, Fleet Foxes and MGMT. Bell X1 and Rodrigo y Gabriela made their Electric Picnic debuts, whilst Chic made their first ever Irish appearance at the festival. Also appearing were Seasick Steve, 2 Many DJs, Jape, Lisa Hannigan, Damien Dempsey, Alabama 3, Bat for Lashes, Imelda May, Echo & the Bunnymen, Magazine, Halfset and Villagers. The Low Anthem played on 4 September The Irish Independent described the mix of acts unveiled at the launch as consisting of "reformed supergroups, cult indie acts, and a couple of hot young things". More acts were announced at a later date.
Other additions
Brian Wilson, Röyksopp, Amadou & Mariam, The Wailers, Fionn Regan, Mundy, James Murphy and Pat Mahoney of LCD Soundsystem, A Flock of Seagulls, Bell Orchestre, The Field, Jeffrey Lewis, Marina and the Diamonds and Richmond Fontaine were announced on 13 May 2009. The Big Pink were added on 29 May.
The Stradbally Laughs line-up was announced on 16 July 2009 and included Sean Hughes, Phil Nichol, Brendon Burns, Gavin Webster, Kevin Bridges, Joe Rooney, Eric Lalor, Andrew Stanley, Damien Clarke, Dead Cat Bounce and Steve Frost's Impro All-Stars featuring Andy Smart, Steve Steen, Richard Vrench and Ian Coppinger. Tommy Tiernan will headline the comedy tent.
More acts were added on 22 July 2009. These included Florence and the Machine, Baaba Maal, The Duckworth Lewis Method, Mick Flannery, The Big Pink, Nightmares on Wax Soundsystem, Laura Izibor, Two Door Cinema Club, Blitzen Trapper, Wave Machines, Peter Broderick, Cap Pas Cap and Stee Downes.
On 30 July, more acts were announced, including Beach House, Blindfold, The Soundcarriers, Amorphous Androgynous, Golden Animals, the Tulla Céilí Band and Lamb. Boy 8-Bit was also announced.
On 4 August, it was revealed that there would be a recycling tent which would feature a display of ancient technological equipment such as the Walkman.
On 13 August, it was revealed that The xx would be appearing at the festival.
On 18 August, the Poptopia! line-up was announced, featuring acts such as Dark Room Notes, Neosupervital and Miss Panti.
On 19 August, several more acts were announced. These included Passion Pit, Our Fold, David Kitt, David Geraghty, 8-Ball, The Hacker, Optomo DJs, Switch, Zombie Nation, Duke Dumont, Aeroplane DJs, Ebony Bones!, Arveene & Misk, The Japanese Popstars and Luciano.
Event
Performances
Rodrigo y Gabriela returned from Mexico where they had gone after eight years of working in Dublin. They launched their album 11:11 on the Friday night.