{"id":656547,"date":"2026-08-26T00:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T00:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/656547\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T00:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T00:27:19","slug":"whats-new-at-electric-picnic-a-two-storey-pub-and-a-barefoot-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/656547\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s new at Electric Picnic: A two-storey pub and a… ‘barefoot garden’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE GRASS IS still relatively green, the bars are empty and there isn\u2019t a discarded tent or welly in sight at Stradbally Hall in Co Laois.<\/p>\n

That will all change in a matter of days.<\/p>\n

Preparations are entering their final stages at the site ahead of the return of Electric Picnic this weekend, when 80,000 festival-goers will descend on the estate.<\/p>\n

The Journal got a look behind the scenes today as stages were being built, bars stocked and some of the festival\u2019s newest areas prepared for their first crowds.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s line-up is headed by Lewis Capaldi, Gorillaz and Fontaines D.C., with Zara Larsson, CMAT, Sombr, Amble and dozens more due to perform across the weekend.<\/p>\n

There was, inevitably, still plenty of work to be done around Stradbally today.<\/p>\n

\"793Electric
\n Preparations for the weekend are underway at Stradbally Hall. Rolling News<\/p>\n

Rolling News\n<\/p>\n

At the Main Stage, preparations were continuing for the weekend\u2019s biggest performances, while elsewhere around the estate temporary structures, bars and stages were steadily being turned into the places tens of thousands of people will occupy from Friday.<\/p>\n

Away from the main stages, organisers are also putting the finishing touches to a number of new additions for 2026. Among them is somewhere festival-goers are actively being encouraged to take their shoes off.\n<\/p>\n

Shoes off at Cro\u00ed<\/p>\n

Tucked into Cro\u00ed, the festival\u2019s wellness-focused area, is the new barefoot garden, titled \u2018Listen to the Land\u2019.<\/p>\n

The concept is fairly straightforward: take your shoes and socks off and spend some time with your feet on the ground.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s being pitched as a chance for festival-goers to slow down amid a weekend which generally involves doing precisely the opposite.<\/p>\n

\n

If you\u2019re heading to Electric Picnic this weekend and wondering where to chill out, the Listen to the Land area (its name is a nod to the late Manch\u00e1n Magan) is offering festivalgoers a space to find some balance. pic.twitter.com\/34KhvK0N2t<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) August 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The garden sits within Cro\u00ed\u2019s Serenity Garden, an area designed as a quieter counterpoint to the crowds, stages and late-night parties elsewhere around Stradbally.<\/p>\n

Cro\u00ed itself combines music with yoga, meditation, movement and other wellness activities during the day before becoming considerably livelier as evening arrives.<\/p>\n

With 80,000 people expected in Stradbally, organiser Daith\u00ed Neavyn said the idea behind the barefoot garden was to provide a little respite from the \u201cchaos and stimulation\u201d elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"807Electric
\n Daithi Neavyn pictured at the barefoot garden. Rolling News<\/p>\n

Rolling News\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to create a place that\u2019s a very simple offering, which is to take off your shoes and socks, stay as long as you want, and just ground barefoot in the earth,\u201d he told The Journal.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren still do it. Grown-ups kind of put off things like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said festival director Melvin Benn had remarked when the idea was first discussed that even if only 50 people discovered the garden over the weekend and found they needed it at that moment, it would have served its purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of beauty of festivals,\u201d Neavyn said. \u201cIt\u2019s about finding a space you didn\u2019t know you were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to have the fun and the activity and the movement, and you have to balance it out with some rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need that moment to pause, to exhale, before you come into the next thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your local, only bigger<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, festival-goers looking for a different sort of respite can now go to the pub.<\/p>\n

For the first time, Guinness has built a two-storey venue at Electric Picnic, dubbed \u2018The Lovely Local\u2019.<\/p>\n

Gustavo Levi, Guinness senior brand manager, described it as the brand\u2019s \u201ctribute to the Irish pub\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had Irish hospitality in mind and the role that pubs play at the festival this weekend,\u201d he told The Journal.<\/p>\n

\"20260825_122246\"
\n The bar area at The Lovely Local. The Journal<\/p>\n

The Journal\n<\/p>\n

The idea, he said, was to create a warm and familiar space which still had enough unusual touches to remind visitors that they were in the middle of Electric Picnic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you step in, it feels that you are familiar with it. But at the same time, when you look around, there are a few details that were very carefully created to surprise people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Levi said the hope is that the pub becomes a destination in itself over the weekend, rather than simply somewhere to grab a pint.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe truly believe that this is going to be a space where people will come out of their tents at midday, they\u2019re going to come over, they\u2019re going to plan their day,\u201d Levi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to be around for the DJ sets, just preparing for that headline moment on the festival field.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd hopefully, at the end of the night, we\u2019re going to see friends coming together, telling all the great stories of a holiday day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lovely Local will host intimate gigs and DJ sets throughout the weekend, with Irish pop artist Morgana among those due to perform.<\/p>\n

A city in the woods<\/p>\n

Another newcomer is considerably harder to describe as a pub.<\/p>\n

GlowDepot began life as an upcycled shopping trolley fitted with a flashing LED umbrella which travelled around Electric Picnic after dark.<\/p>\n

Fifteen years later, it has been given its own permanent festival home.<\/p>\n

Organisers describe the new area as a \u201ccity in the woods\u201d, centred around a stage modelled on a retro petrol station canopy and constructed using upcycled plastics collected at Irish music festivals.<\/p>\n

The area will focus on neo-soul, underground music and Irish hip-hop during the day before switching towards club music after dark.<\/p>\n

\"809Electric
\n Dozens of dancers will be performing at GlowDepot. Rolling News<\/p>\n

Rolling News\n<\/p>\n

It also contains Courtside, a basketball-themed second stage hosted by Super Average DJs, alongside pop-up performances and roaming entertainers.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the woods, familiar late-night haunts including Anachronica and the Survivors area return.<\/p>\n

The woodland rave will once again continue after the main arena closes, with Irish and UK techno and underground acts playing into the early hours.<\/p>\n

Mother After Dark will also return for three nights of DJs, drag and queer performers on the forest floor.<\/p>\n

Comedy is getting an extra night this year too. The comedy tent will open from 6pm on Friday for the first time, effectively adding another full evening to its programme.<\/p>\n

Festival-goers looking for something slightly more substantial than chips on the walk back to their tent will meanwhile have some new options.<\/p>\n

Nomad will contain two restaurants which can actually be booked through the Electric Picnic app: Ibile, serving West African food, and Biang Biang, offering Chinese food.<\/p>\n

\"20260825_100249\"
\n The display sign for Ibile. The Journal<\/p>\n

The Journal\n<\/p>\n

Both will offer sittings between 12.30pm and 4pm before becoming more conventional walk-up festival restaurants later in the day.<\/p>\n

And for those bringing children, Little Picnic returns in Stradbally\u2019s walled garden with workshops, storytelling, science experiments, circus activities, crafts and music, as well as sensory-friendly activities.<\/p>\n

Electric Picnic<\/a> takes place at Stradbally Hall from 28 to 30 August.<\/p>\n