A stand-up comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster, Phil Jupitus is making his Electric Picnic debut this year. As it happens, the acclaimed comedian is also an old friend of Hot Press, so he told us that he'd be happy to join us in the Hot Press tent for a chat.

He's not the only old friend we'll be seeing again. Prominent Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac will also make an appearance over the weekend. Not only has the Dublin-born tastemaker been prominent in bringing dance music to the mainstream in the UK & Ireland, she's also been vocal in trying to address the gender imbalance in festival line-ups (no better setting to talk to her about that particular issue), as well as stressing the need for safe drug-testing zones inside festival grounds. We're looking forward to hearing her insights (we also spoke with Annie for our Electric Picnic special issue - out on August 17).

Musician-wise, the first act we've lined up for our chatroom is Cavan four-piece The Strypes. Having torn up every generalisation about themselves with their incredible third album Spitting Image (released back in June), the lads are entering a new chapter in their exciting career. They're also incredibly funny gentlemen, so it'll be a treat to have them in our tent!

On top of all the above, we have the pleasure of hosting Love/Hate actor and spokesperson for the traveller community John Connors in our chatroom. John has debunked the state-sponsored propaganda that Travellers are dispossessed people from the Famine (ie failed settled people) and uncovered, through DNA testing, that Travellers are in fact the last vestiges of pre-colonialist Gaelic society, which was nomadic. He'll be in conversation with Hot Press journalist Adrienne Murphy, who succeeded in breaking her 14-year-old son, Caoimh, out of his locked-in state, to become one the first severely autistic non-speaking people in history to reach full communication through letter-pointing on an alphabet stencil.

In this conversation, the two will discuss the particular myths that their own revolutionary work has overthrown and dogma-breaking in a more general sense, including the perseverance required in the face of ongoing hardwired bigotry and blinkered indoctrination in demonstrably erroneous theories.

Consistently bringing in the best talent that the Picnic has to offer, the Hot Press chatroom is a chance to see your favourite artists/musicians/comedians/actors at their most open and talkative. Stay tuned to hotpress.com for more Hot Press Chatroom updates in the coming days.

Here's Picture This in our chatroom last year:

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