ENTERTAINMENT: Billow Wood play Electric Picnic then Clare Island

Mayo band Billow Wood is set to perform at Electric Picnic, which takes this weekend, August 16 to 18.
The band put on a fantastic performance at last year’s festival in Stradbally, and this year they are set to do the same on both the Hazelwood Stage and The Word Stage.
Made up of founding members Mark O’Donnell and Harry Lawlor, alongside Andy Dempsey, Emily Donoghue and Aodan Cronin, the five-piece band seamlessly blends multiple genres of music such as folk, traditional and mainstream music, with lavish vocal harmonies and instrumentation. The band’s former member, Brid O’Donnell, will also perform with the band for their Electric Picnic appearances.
The Hazelwood stage (An Chollchoill) is the festival’s Irish-language stage. Themed ‘Croí na Féile’ it is set in a secluded woodland haven amongst a circle of traditional horse-drawn caravans, with a crackling campfire and a beautiful array of visual art. With a mix of traditional music agus cultúr Gaelach, acts take to the stage every night from 7pm to after midnight.
Billow Wood played two rare home gigs last month, including a performance in St Michael’s Church, Ballina, and an open-air appearance on the main stage for Ballina Heritage Day.
Their music was also heard earlier this year at Folk Alliance International in the US, a major showcase event in the folk genre attended by some of the industry’s top names.
Mayo fans who can’t make the upcoming Electric Picnic gig have another chance to catch the band live, when they play the Clare Island Folk Festival on August 25, before they jet off to Switzerland for another gig.