A Major Change Is Coming To The Electric Picnic Festival Next Year

For the first time ever, early arrivers at Elecrtric Picnic will be provided with entertainment on the Thursday night as the festival has announced an all-female comedy line-up to kick the 2018 festivities off.

On Thursday August 30, the Hazel Wood stage will play host to some of Ireland's funniest gals before the festival officially opens its gates on Friday August 31.

The idea is the joint brainchild of festival Director Melvin Benn and Emily O’Callaghan, a sometime stand-up performer. A chance meeting between the pair at this year's festival saw them both point out that there was a lack of female talent among the comedy line-up.

Melvin noted how the idea developed from a UK Festival earlier this year, saying:

‘We launched a first initiative in the UK in August this year: ReBalance, which will enable future and current female musicians within the industry, to have the support they need to be recognised. In Ireland our first step is to introduce an all-female comedy line up which will perform on Thursday night on the Hazel Wood stage. I must say I’m incredibly pleased Emily prompted me at this year’s picnic. The Thursday night will have incredible meaning as well as incredible comedians’

Emily, who has been organising and promoting more gender balanced and all-female comedy nights for years in Dublin, added:

‘Every act at The Hazel Wood Comedy stage will be hand-picked. I'm really excited to run this and I hope many people will wander down to the woods on Thursday and be blown away by the talent on display. I am so excited to see the show myself as there will be so many acts that I admire and who make me laugh. I am also delighted to announce that we have the amazing Joanne McNally on board as MC. It's the perfect start to kick off the weekend and I know that the audience will love it’. Emily O’Callaghan.

MC for the night will be Joanne McNally, one of Ireland's foremost female comedians and the line-up includes such talent as Aoife Dooley , Lisa Casey, Sharon Mannion, Aine Gallagher, Harriet Braine , Ashlee Bentley, Sahar Ali, Blaithin DeBurca, Aoife O'Connor, Christina McMahon, Orla O'Doherty Brown, Fiona Frawley and Grace Mulvey.