What it’s like to perform on the main stage of Electric Picnic

Electric Picnic coverage is brought to you in association with Ramsbottom’s Portlaoise

There’s a great scene in one of those classic D’Unbelievable videos with Pat Shortt and John Kenny where the two lads, dressed up as members of an Garda Síochána, let rip about the parking at the previous year’s county final.

“There was blatant abandonmeness of cars on the side of the road,” says Shortt’s character. “You just pulled up there, left the car where you liked and went off.”

Well, in Timahoe last Monday week, a couple of days out from Electric Picnic, it was just like that. Forget your road markings, or the general layout of the roads in general, there were cars everywhere. Abandoned.

Inside in Headen’s Tower Inn, the place was packed. The Choir were in for their last practice before their latest Electric Picnic outing. Two outings in fact.

It was akin to a county final in another way. The gear was being given out: Willie Lalor was in charge of the performer wristbands. Nobody was missing an occasion like this.

While many of the choir members sit in the same place every week, a bit like mass goers who have their own seats, there was an overflow out into the bar too.

Choir master Damien Bowe is like the manager and his address to the members would hold its own in any dressing room. Whereas in 2024 they performed in Hazelwood and Trailer Park at the Picnic, this time they’re on the Main Stage. The fecking Main Stage, no less. It’s hard to believe.

It’s real unknown territory. The time slot is early – 1.30pm on Sunday – and the arena is huge. There are genuine fears that it could fall flat and Bowe is keen to manage expectations.

“Last year will never be repeated, it was a complete once-off,” he implores, referencing back to their debut appearance when Hazelwood, for the first time ever, had to actually be closed such was the scale of the crowd that showed up.

Trailer Park was something similar. Never before had an act at that part of the festival attracted such a crowd.

But he tells the gathering that Festival Director Melvin Benn signed off himself on the Timahoe Male Choir’s appearance on the Main Stage. He tells them that it’s the first time an amateur group has ever performed there, that it doesn’t get any bigger, that a chance like this won’t come around again.

The spectre of a small crowd in that massive arena hangs over it but he’s keen to hammer home a particular message. “It doesn’t matter if there’s 50 there or 5,000. We bring the same energy and volume no matter what.”

He goes through the dimensions of the stage (it’s huge) and the set list is finalised. They must have almost 30 songs now that they’re comfortable with but the agenda for the Picnic has all the sing-along classics that they’ve come very familiar with: The Way I Am; Proud Mary; Don’t Look Back in Anger; The Irish Medley. 

The Abba Medley is a relatively new one, so too is Killeagh while Gala/Maniac 2000 will finish off the set. In all there are 12 songs. They’re going to be on stage for an hour. It’s a long time for a group of this nature.

And so, for one last time, they go through the set in the exact order they’ll do so on Sunday. The noise is off the charts.

After a while they take a break but Bowe knows time is limited. A few lads are gasping for a pint but before they can get out of their seats, he looks for a show of hands. “How many people are looking for Guinness,” he barks. The hands pop up. “Right. Seven pints of Guinness,” he shouts at the bar.

He’s not in the mood to hold up the show because some lad is waiting for his Guinness to settle. They get through one more song while the pints are being pulled.

“The Kings of Leon,” aren’t taking a break like that quips one lad. The Timahoe Male Choir, of course, are on the same lineup on Sunday’s Main Stage as the aforementioned Kings of Leon. Again, you couldn’t make it up.

The Monday night practice sessions have been a staple since the Timahoe Male Choir took its first tentative steps two years ago. They rotate between the village’s two pubs – Headen’s and Ramsbottom’s.

Though there is no formal membership structure, there are 84 in the WhatsApp group. New members filter in every so often. The majority are from Timahoe but they have gathered up plenty of others from elsewhere.

Jim Walsh and Denis Tierney are from Ballyroan, Jimmy Fitzpatrick and Kieran Brophy are from Spink, Tom Carolan and Niall Walker from Stradbally, Paul Delaney and Pa O’Reilly are from Crettyard, Aidan McCabe is from Portlaoise, Noel Brennan is Rathdowney.

Whether by accident or design, on the Main Stage it’s the St Joseph’s duo of Patrick Kelly and Denis ‘Blondie’ Kealy that are assigned the duty of carrying the Timahoe banner.

One evening, in Ramsbottom’s, I wear my Annanough t-shirt. Annanough, along with Stradbally and Timahoe, make up the parish.

“You shouldn’t be wearing that up here,” young John Keightley tells me with particular gusto. John is 11 and is in for the minerals and crisps. His father and grandfather, both also John, are long-standing members of the choir.

Since accompanying them to New York for St Patrick’s weekend, myself and Paul Dargan have become members too. We now even have our own red t-shirts, as well as the beige pants and brown Dubarry shoes that were sourced in Shaw’s ahead of the appearance alongside the 2 Johnnie’s in St Anne’s Park in June.

Before Sunday ever arrives, there’s a booking in the Salty Dog on Thursday night. It was meant to be a Flash Mob and though most of the members don’t know what that is, they show up in huge numbers nonetheless.

The idea was that the choir members would wear a jacket over their red t-shirt and then all just appear from all angles, singing. As it turns out, that was too much of an ask and Plan B is enacted: they gather at the front of the stage and belt out the four songs instead. It goes down a real treat again and the 3,000 or so in Salty Dog lap it up.

With that out of the way, it’s on to Sunday. Most people are in around the Picnic at various stages on Friday and Saturday but Sunday is the big one. The bus is leaving Timahoe at 11 and breakfast is put on in the Heritage Centre, beside the famed Round Tower.

Some are in mass, some get a quick pint, some get a coffee and by 11 the bus, packed to capacity, is ready for the short trip to Stradbally.

A Garda motorbike pulls off in front to provide an escort. Last year when they got the Garda escort up through Stradbally it led to a certain level of intrigue, with one reveller thinking it was Kylie Minogue arriving such was the level of commotion.

It’s probably a bit OTT but it properly adds to the occasion nonetheless.

“There isn’t an organisation in the country that we don’t have pull in,” says one fella.

Donal and Dolores O’Connell are outside their house waving the Timahoe flag as the bus departs the village.

Being able to see over the ditches is one of the real plus points of the bus and it’s no time before we’re picking up Fr David Vard and Padraig Clancy and Tom O’Connor, who have abandoned their family holiday in Centreparcs, to make it back down for the big day.

Who pulls in on the bus behind us only the lads from Kingfishr, who are also on Main Stage, albeit at the far more festival friendly time of 7pm. Their bus isn’t near as big but it does have blacked out windows. Notably, none of them have a Timahoe Hurling bag over their shoulder that looks like it’s at least 30 years old.

With that, there’s no shortage of cans back stage while we line out in our positions so we know where to go on stage. We do get up for a quick run through. The crowd is gathering, slowly.

When we do get back out it has filled out considerably more. Estimates later suggest it was 6,000-8,000.

Not bad going for a group of farmers, digger drivers, teachers, prison officers and guards, as Damien Bowe describes the group to the crowd. “Just a group of ordinary men that meet to sing every Monday night,” he adds.

Once again, the set goes down brilliantly, as does the cameo from the Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins, who jives with Paul Dargan, who manages to be photographer and one quarter of the Lads and Dads dancers, who have joined the setup now too.

For everyone, it’s a surreal experience. It’s probably only my fifth or sixth time singing in public, albeit as part of a large group. The magnitude of Main Stage is arguably wasted on me. It’d be like letting Lewis Capaldi out to play in Croke Park on All Ireland final day. He probably wouldn’t fully appreciate it.

While I’m good to know the words, my timing and movement wouldn’t be hectic to say the least.

At one stage I overshoot the runway and start the next line way too soon. Thankfully, it largely goes unnoticed. Memo to self, it’s better to be a bit late joining in than too early.

So what’s next? This Sunday the group is in the church in Portlaoise for a brief appearance where they’ll sing one song, Through Wind and Rain. 

The big one on the horizon is a mooted trip to Spain next May but before that there’s talk of bookings in nursing homes, Shaw’s in Portlaoise, Rathdowney, Vicarstown and Carlow Mart.

From Electric Picnic to Carlow Mart, no less.

There’s not too many other Electric Main stage acts will do that.

Electric Picnic coverage is brought to you in association with Ramsbottom’s Portlaoise

SEE ALSO – Check out all our 2025 Electric Picnic coverage here