Kildare singer gets her big break at Electric Picnic this weekend
.jpeg?trim=46,0,189,0&crop=&width=640&quality=70&enable=upscale)
Newbridge music legend Donal Lunny will be among the best-known Kildare representatives
Electric Picnic will have a strong Kildare presence when the festival gets underway at Stradbally Hall this weekend, with musicians, comedians and community performers from the county featuring across the programme.
Newbridge music legend Donal Lunny will be among the best-known Kildare representatives, performing at the Croí area as part of a traditional music line-up with Máirtín O’Connor and Zoe Conway.
Lunny, who grew up in Newbridge, has enjoyed a career spanning more than five decades and has been one of the most influential figures in Irish traditional music.
He will be joined at the festival by comedian Jarlath Regan, who was raised on the Curragh.
Regan is appearing as part of the festival's comedy programme, bringing his distinctive observational style to audiences at Stradbally.
There will also be a strong community connection from Ballymore Eustace, with the Ballymore-Eustace Concert Band performing as part of the Little Picnic programme.
The band will take its music to the family area, which features a programme of performances, workshops, storytelling, science, circus and other activities aimed at younger festival-goers.
Athy singer Mackayla Chloe is another Kildare name on the 2026 programme.
She is one of five winners of the Electric Youth 2026 competition and will perform on the An Chollchoill | The Hazelwood stage during the festival.
The competition gives emerging Irish performers the opportunity to play at one of the country's biggest music festivals.
Electric Picnic runs from Friday, August 28 to Sunday, August 30, with thousands of music fans expected to descend on Stradbally for the three-day event.
The festival features more than 800 performances across 50 stages, with a line-up spanning music, comedy, theatre, arts and family entertainment.
For Kildare festival-goers, the county's representation means there will be plenty of local talent to seek out, from Lunny's traditional music performance and Regan's comedy to Mackayla Chloe's appearance and the Ballymore Eustace band's community performance.