Dublin Gospel Choir jump start Electric Picnic Sunday

Sunday morning at Electric Picnic usually finds the majority of picnickers running out of steam, but loyal DGC were more than capable of chasing away the hangovers.

The gospel band are no strangers to EP's main arena and this year they treated us to a sleu of classic heavyweights.

Listening to gospel at EP technically counts as going to Sunday mass right? Hells yes!
The band hurled power anthem after power anthem at the audience, and it worked - the tired crowd were soon busting their choicest moves. 'Work on Me' set the feel good vibe in motion with its booty shaking brilliance. Next up was Earth, Wind and Fire's 'September' hitting you in the chest with its belting percussion.

An angelic and jazz heavy 'Let the Sunshine' was practically a warning for the abysmal rainfall of the night before to stay far away.

There's something divine, godly almost, about hearing classical favourites performed by a gospel choir. 'Stairway to Heaven' was sinfully good with searing electric guitar riffs and a bluesy female vocalist.
One of the highlights was a stunningly reverent rendition of Prince's 'Purple Rain' - a song the conductor called 'a dream to be able to perform.'

We all know you can't have a proper classical sesh without Queen. It takes a bold performer to tackle a song by Queen, and an even braver artist to attempt to come within a scale of Mercury's unique vocals - that said, applause must be given to the male vocalist who came pretty damn close to nailing the legendary singer in 'Don't Stop Me Now'.

Then it was an ode to the queen of cool gospel and pop herself - Whitney Huston. 'I wanna dance with somebody' and 'How Will I know' brought the '80s to the main arena with riotous aplomb. As if the crowd wasn't pulsing with enough energy, the vamping piano and "ooh hoo" refrain of 'Hold My Hand', followed by a yummy sax filled 'Can't Stop the Feeling' by Justin Timberlake had the whole crowd in a dancing frenzy.

The daddy of all jazz-gospel tunes 'The Saints Go Marching In' by Louis Armstrong, brought the stunning performance to a welly bopping end, leaving a sea of picnickers smiling from ear to ear and fully charged for EP Sunday.