Plough your own furrow at Mindfield
ONCE upon a time, music festivals were about showing up, tuning in and dropping out. Revellers could check out of the wider world and enjoy a weekend of boozy, muddy, crankedup-to-11 hedonism.
But the Irish festival is no longer just about the music — and the Electric Picnic was the forerunner for this kind of experience.
Dotted among the trees and bushes there are wellness spots with spa areas and hot tubs, , food stages and even a fine dining restaurant hosted by two of Ireland’s top chefs, Clodagh McKenna and Derry Clarke.
You need to dress up for this and there are special restaurant sittings, with all proceeds from the dining going to charity.
But one of the mainstays of the Electric Picnic and an area that proves extremely popular with punters of all ages is the place where revellers go to expand their minds.
Set among the uplit trees, MindField is a place where you’re likely to see Miriam O’Callaghan cast a jaundiced eye on the big newspaper stories of the weekend, Blindboy Boatclub converse with Blackadder/Spitting Image producer John Lloyd, and Doireann Garrihy and Alison Spittle record live podcasts.
During the day, hangovers can be salved with some storytelling and poetry by Candlelight Tales, Lewis Kenny and Colm Keegan.
And on Sunday, the arena will host the biggest céilí band to ever play the Picnic as The Mullingar Fleadh Ceoil 2020 group take to the stage.
‘We hope we would engage, inflame and inspire,’ says Naoise Nunn, founder/director of the MindField arena at the Electric Picnic. ‘There’s always something a bit provocative happening in there, where people can take stock of things.’
If you venture into MindField this weekend, you’re also likely to find Irish language poetry, grime rap artists, cutting edge comedy, hearty debate and storytelling. Think TED talks mixed with the Hay-On-Wye literary festival.
And this year, hot-button topics such as Brexit, populism, Ireland’s place in Europe, climate change, biodiversity and the experiences of the Irish Traveller community are centre stage.
Of course, many of these issues are rarely far from everyday life. When we are saturated with information the whole time, why should we travel to a field in Portlaoise for more of the same?
ACCORDING to Nunn, it’s current events alright, but not as we know them. ‘I suppose people come to festivals to take a bit of a break from everyday life, but here, you get to listen to debates and contribute to them,’ he explains.
‘Usually, people receive the news in passive mode, and are tearing their hair out reading the papers and listening to the radio, but here, there’s an opportunity to try something different. People are a
bit more relaxed at MindField, they might have a few drinks, and they’re in a space where they can consider things and be part of the public conversation, as opposed to being on receive all the time.’
Nunn notes that the burning issues of the day are presented in a positive, solutions-focused way, rather than ‘revelling in catastrophe’.
It’s also a good opportunity, he notes, to get behind the spin and debate to the true heart of the issue.
‘I was very keen to invite Travellers to speak for themselves about their experiences, rather than have someone speaking on their behalf,’ explains Nunn.
‘Dr. Sindy Joyce and (comedian) Martin Beanz Ward will be talking about how the community has faced challenges in everyday life.’
The Ah, Hear! Podcast Stage enjoyed a rousing debut run last year, and given the ongoing popularity of podcasts in Ireland, Nunn reckons it will be a huge draw for revellers.
Among the line-up this year is David McWilliams, Jason Byrne, West Cork’s Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde, and Richie Sadlier.
‘The thing about podcasts is that people use them to relax in their downtime or for company on a commute,’ observes Nunn. ‘Usually, listening to them is an intimate experience, but here you get to be in the room while the recording is being made and get involved.’
The genesis of MindField happened way back in 2003, when Nunn set up Leviathan, a Dublinbased ‘political cabaret’ designed to take the debate out of the hands of academics and media professionals.
The venue of choice was the now-defunct Crawdaddy, run by the late John Reynolds. In 2006, Reynolds encouraged Nunn to take over a tent at the Electric Picnic, and MindField has been going from strength to strength ever since.
There have been some stellar MindField signings over the years, among them Jon Ronson and the late Howard Marks.
‘We aim very high and every so often we land the really big names,’ reveals Nunn.
‘It can be tricky to get people to a festival like this, and these are people who are usually used to festivals in cities where they get to stay in a nice hotel and have a lovely dinner. There aren’t the things to contend with when you’re pretty much in the middle of a field in Laois. But it’s pretty magical, and they do love it when they get down here.’
CHANNEL 4 newscaster Jon Snow appeared at MindField in 2009, although forgot one very vital piece of wardrobe. ‘When we came over he stopped off in his way down to get a pair of wellies in Dunnes,’ recalls Nunn. ‘Of course, they had sold out of pairs, and the only ones he could find were two left-footed wellies, so he bought them and wore them to the festival.
‘The place was absolutely jammed, and people were fairly bemused when he raised his feet to show them the two left-footed wellies.’
In another memorable instance, Bob Geldof had been booked for a public interview in the MindField Arena.
‘There was a power struggle between BP Fallon and David McWilliams on who would interview him, so in the end we decided
to do two interviews back to back — BP talking about the music, and David talking to him about Live Aid,’ he recalls. ‘It ended up being two-and-a-half hours before he played a gig himself. He came offstage and said, “you said it would be an hour!”’
Nunn has a lengthy wish list of dream signings for future events: ‘Oh God, the sky really is the limit in terms of ambition,’ he notes.
‘If you had the budget, we are all about bringing in the really good communicators. People who think big.’
One of the biggest and best of the annual festivals, Electric Picnic is expected to attract 57,000 to Stradbally Estate, Co Laois, for the three-day bank holiday weekend spectacular.
Today’s headliners include music sensation Billie Eilish – the 17-year-old who blew Glastonbury away — who takes to the main stage at 7.30pm tonight, followed by Dermot Kennedy (9pm) and Hozier (10.30pm).
Saturday’s sees The Riptide Movement kick off at 1.45pm, with Gerry Cinnamon at 6pm, Christine and the Queens at 7.45pm, The 1975 at 9.15pm and The Strokes topping off the night at 11.30pm.
The Dublin Gospel Choir open the worshipful proceedings at 1pm on Sunday before Razorlight (4.15pm), Jess Glynne (5.30pm) Richard Ashcroft (7pm), Kodaline (8.30pm) and Florence + the Machine (11.30pm). For more details on MindField’s lineup this weekend, see electricpicnic.ie.