Dublin-based folk out DUG opened Electric Picnic with a scintillating bluegrass set that drew crowds more and more as their 45 minute set rolled and rollicked across the 3 Music Stage sound system.

DUG @ Electric Picnic . 16/08/24. Copyright Gary Ibbotson

Exceptional displays of the transatlantic folk scene flow through DUG, comprised of SoCal native Jonny Pickett and Scottish singer-songwriter Lorkin O’Reilly, who spent much of the last decade in Upstate New York. Their endless stream of dirges, ditties and dins is inspiriting and invokes a flagship moment for the broad strokes of a genre crying out for innovation.

DUG's sprawling setlist meanders as any staggeringly good story should, with a slew of atavistic trad covers and a well-wrought spell of their own offerings, from their as-yet-unannounced upcoming record. The duo were backed by a floor-shaking full band, including Michael McCarthy on drums and Aidan Gray on bass.

DUG @ Electric Picnic. 16/08/24. Copyright Gary Ibbotson

While the duo are able to muster an astounding degree of polish on their studio releases, the live stage and backing outfit allow for each track to take on a new spirit.

They kicked things off with their second single release, 'Big Sundown'. The song perfectly suffuses the musical heritages of band members Lorkin O’Reilly and Jonny Pickett, drawing inspiration from the journey of O’Reilly’s parents as they immigrated from Ireland to Australia in the 1980s while remaining true to the duo’s iconic Americana-Irish folk soundscape.

From there, they performed other incredible covers, such as 'Katie Cruel'. The duo's sparse acoustic version, featuring O'Reilly's rich voice, his resophonic guitar, and Pickett's brilliant use of a century-old banjo - which understandably needed consistent retuning, is minimalist by comparison to their bigger offerings. And yet it carries the same weight.

I was praying to the EP gods that DUG would play 'Cumberland Gap', and once I heard those first few notes, I knew some big deity upstairs must have been listening. It's bathed in old-school live chamber reverb, bubbling across a huge soundstage, where the impactful percussion and warbling voices coil like hot-rolled steel around each harmony.

Then, of course, would any DUG set be complete without their guffaw-worthy, 'Promoter Man'? A feisty warning shot aimed at the ghosts of  talent bookers past, the song was a heavy hitter of transatlantic might with a comedic twist.

The biggest stand-out for me was perhaps a surprise cover of Loudon Wainwright III's 'The Swimming Song'. One of those tracks that you just can't help but smile at, DUG did Wainwright III clear justice, a bright homage to one of the folk giants I'm sure they'd look up to: the Appalachian delivery braiding effortlessly around the underlying humorous bent and undeniable artistry.

It was a brilliant set to open the 3 Music Stage from one of the greatest folk acts to emerge this year, where images of mothers and daughters dancing hand in hand and crowds drawing in as the set progressed (dying to see what incredible sound was coming from the tent). Brilliance from Jonny and Lorkin is a expectation and the crowd were in very safe hands with DUG's abundantly propulsive EP debut.