Festival: Electric Picnic vs End of the Road

End of the Picnic? How about Electric Road…

The chaotic madness that is Electric Picnic or the waking dream that is End of the Road? The sprawling, luscious fields of Stradbally or the daintier delights of Dorset? Every January these gruelling dilemmas exacerbate my post-Christmas blues as new year adventures are shaped and shined well in advance. Up until three years ago, such 1st world problems simply did not exist as EOTR and EP fell on different weekends allowing this festival-freak to visit both. In hindsight, the date-change and clash was probably a good thing for me, both physically and mentally as 9 days out of 11 in a field is tough-going, even for the die-hards. Ever since “the choice” came into play, the Stradbally session has fallen by the wayside for me, with the Larmer Tree Garden get-together winning out due to its smaller size and the lack of corporate sponsorship resulting in a more peaceful experience. In saying that, every single year – for just the teeniest of micro-moments – guilt invades my happy-place like a swarm of scorned locusts, for having abandoned an Irish festival for a trip across the Irish Sea. Only for that instant though…

Six trips to Laois and five visits to Dorset mean I have a very special connection to both festivals, no odditiy really seeing as the line-ups are so similar. The purpose of this post is to highlight the best of the crossover i.e. artists playing at both festivals. So if you are Picnic-bound or Dorset-destined, make special preparations to see this lot.

For more on Electric Picnic visit:

For more on End of the Road visit:

– Electric Picnic takes place in Stradbally, Laois from 30th August to 1st September 2013
– End of the Road takes place in Dorset, U.K. from 29th August-1st September 2013