Hello, I live under a rock.Hello. Electric Picnic is a three-day music and arts festival that takes place in Stradbally Estate, Co Laois and has become the highlight of the Irish music festival calendar.
I see. So who's playing?Acts you might be interested in include The Cure, Sigur Rós, The Killers, The xx, Elbow, Orbital, Azealia Banks (pictured), Patti Smith and loads more.
What about the Irish?You can add Christy Moore, Delorentos, The Fat Lady Sings, David Kitt, Cathy Davey and Ham Sandwich.
And the non-music stuff?There's a lot of it; Fossett's Circus, a comedy tent, art installations, the Mindfield area features everything from David McWilliams's political Leviathan, experiments and talks in the Science Gallery's inflatable tent, a literary stage full of authors, a theatre tent, an Irish language tent and more. Along with all of that, there's also what many see as the heart of the festival: the Body Soul area, with some cracking grub and smaller stages.
What if I have a fear of setting up tents?Then you might be interested in a day ticket for Sunday, the only day for which one-day tickets are available, for €99.50, when the Killers, Elbow, Hot Chip, Bat For Lashes and more are playing. Or check out the boutique camping options.
Can I bring the kids with me?The Soul Kids area provides a fun space for kids, with space-hopper races, clowns, theatre workshops and readings from children's authors. There's family camping as well, if you don't fancy sitting up all night sharing cans of cider with strangers.
I'm hungry.Good. The Theatre of Food area with chefs from Chapter One, l'Ecrivain, the Tannery and elsewhere should meet your needs. There are also demonstrations on smoking fish in a biscuit tin, chocolate workshops and wine tastings.
How can I make myself feel better by counteracting a weekend of gorging on smoked fish, wine plus a music and arts overload?Sign up to the Tour De Picnic, a fundraising initiative that will involve a huge crowd cycling from Dublin to the Stradbally site. See give2go.ie.
