Electric Picnic extends another warm invitation to all lovers of music, art, culture and general frivolity to our annual little get-together in Stradbally, Co Laois, 3rd, 4th & 5th Sept. A world ready to entice & enthrall you, tickle and tease you. Now in our seventh year our ship’s sails are fully hoisted and the journey we annually embark on is becoming more of a home-coming than a new exploration, although taking unknown and adventurous paths along the way is compulsory. How else would we discover the treasures and riches we will be offering to stimulate the senses. All six.

Music is just one of such offerings and it is here that we shall begin…

Driven by the refined and effortless cool of Bryan Ferry, ROXY MUSIC will make their first ever Irish festival appearance with a set that will cover all of their classic hits, such as ‘Love is the Drug’, ‘Jealous Guy’ ‘Let’s Stick Together’ and ‘Avalon’. One of the most influential acts of all time, the punks, new romantics, electro-poppers and more that have followed in their wake all owe a huge sonic and sartorial debt to ROXY MUSIC.

After a decade of hibernation, LEFTFIELD will be touring in summer 2010, bringing their epic live show to handful of select festivals and Electric Picnic 2010 is their chosen destination in Ireland. LEFTFIELD’s unique fusion of electronica, house, dub reggae and rock saw them release two classic albums in the late ’90s in ‘Leftism’ and ‘Phat Planet’ that will need no introduction. Bristol trip hop legends MASSIVE ATTACK make a very welcome return to Stradbally having played a storming set there in 2006. Forever innovating and pushing the boundaries, MASSIVE ATTACK’s new audiovisual live show has to be experienced to be believed, and will also feature an array of guest vocalists.

Electric Picnic is particularly honoured to welcome LCD SOUNDSYSTEM the 3-time Grammy-nominated New Yorkers come back to Stradbally where they will treat us to tracks to their eagerly-awaited third album. Their South London peers, close pals and DFA labelmates HOT CHIP also make a welcome return to Stradbally on the back of their new album ‘One Life Stand’.

THE FRAMES celebrate their 20th birthday this year with their first show in Ireland in some 3 years. With a 20th anniversary ‘Best Of’ compilation due for release later in the year, Oscar-winner Glen Hansard and band re-group for Electric Picnic, airing some of their finest work, with the likes of ‘Revelate’, ‘Lay Me Down’, ‘Pavement Tune, ‘Monument’, and ‘Falling Slowly’ sure to bring the house down. Rising Dublin superstar IMELDA MAY has been perhaps the biggest success story of the last 12 months, her triple platinum-selling album ‘Love Tattoo’ introducing rockabilly to a new generation, having already performed at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in January with Jeff Beck, thereby becoming just the second Irish act to play the famous ceremony, she releases a brand new album on the weekend of Electric Picnic.

With Brooklyn’s THE NATIONAL and Washingtons’ MODEST MOUSE, London indie-folksters MUMFORD & SONS continue with their first trip to Electric Picnic; while ‘the world’s greatest living bluesman’ Steve Cobold aka SEASICK STEVE’s set at Electric Picnic 2009 went down so well, he had to be invited back to play the main stage in 2010.

In poet, author and soul/jazz/blues musician GIL SCOTT-HERON, Electric Picnic welcomes another iconic and massively influential veteran who has been described as ‘the founding father of rap music’ with his stunning new album “I’m New Here” which was released by XL recordings last month and is already being tipped as a contender for ‘best album of 2010′. The New Zealand seven-headed soul/reggae monster that is FAT FREDDY’S DROP bring their blistering live show to Electric Picnic – expect much from Los Angeles’ 10 piece funk orchestra BREAKESTRA and the first ever live show in Ireland by CYMANDE.

THE WATERBOYS uplifting folk rock and ‘big music’ sound always produces a great live show, while AFRO CELT SOUNDSYTEM are to play their first show since reforming with their original line-up. Singersongwriter PAUL BRADY will dig into his deep well of classic folk hits, while the originator of the Galway Girl and the veritable saviour of country music, STEVE EARLE, will air his Grammy award winning album Townes.

Sigur Ros frontman JONSI is getting great critical acclaim for his first solo album ‘Go’, released this month, and Picnickers will get a chance to see if his live show can reach the awe-inspiring heights achieved by his band when they headlined Electric Picnic 2008. Sweden’s FEVER RAY will play one of just three shows they play worldwide this year; while we have yet more Irish debut at EP for BAD LIEUTENANT – the new project of Joy Division/New Order ’s Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham – and cult post-punk New Yorkers’ LIQUID LIQUID.

For the fan of more contemporary classic acoustic guitar-based indie; look no further that another who released one of the critics favourite albums of 2009, THE LOW ANTHEM; plus an act who many are tipping to do the same in 2010 with their recent album BEACH HOUSE from Baltimore; venerable Canadian power-pop group THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS; Dubllin’s guitar-wielding bard and recent Domino signee THE VILLAGERS, and recent Choice award champ ADRIAN CROWLEY.

Germany’s finest electro house duo, BOOKA SHADE, with music from fourth studio album, More!;; keeping it unreal MR SCRUFF; BLOODY BEETROOTS with their DEATH CREW 77 full 6 piece band fusing punk, rock & electronica; The uncompromising sound of Toronto duo CRYSTAL CASTLES; Award-winning electronic drone rockers THE BIG PINK, Mancunian veteran electronic act 808 STATE; Canadian psych traveller CARIBOU; Irish hip hoppers MESSIAH J & THE EXPERT; Black clad London quintet THE HORRORS; Welsh Legends THE ALARM, Brooklyn electronic folkers HERE WE GO MAGIC; the debauched rock’n’ roll antics of Israel’s MONOTONIX; instrumental rock princes REDNECK MANIFESTO; Moniker-crazed one-man-band Dayve Hawk with his psychedelic pop MEMORY TAPES; the gentle electronic folk of former Beta Band frontman STEVE MASON; brothers and co-frontmen Peter and David Brewis’band FIELD MUSIC; eccentric and hilarious rapper EDAN, And no Sunday morning at EP would be complete without the Sunday morning wake-up call from THE DUBLIN GOSPEL CHOIR.