Little Hours delight crowds with Electric Picnic opening gig

Fri, 01 Sep, 2017 - 19:17

Little Hours, Main Stage,

4/5 stars

There are short straws and then there’s opening the main stage at a major music festival.

Kudos, therefore, to bittersweet Donegal duo Little Hours for embracing the opportunity rather than being daunted by what was mostly still a big empty field.

The hordes may not yet have descended on Stradbally (actually the hordes were still in the campsites putting up their tents and finding somewhere to chill their beer).

But for early arrivals the partnership of Ryan McCloskey and John Doherty was the perfect way to kick off the weekend.

Dwarfed by the vast stage, their happy/ sad music drifted towards the blue/grey skies.

How Could I Love You? was one of those doe eyed-laments that have become ubiquitous post-Ed Sheeran while Tired blended bustling guitars and sighing piano.

Though signed to Sony Records, the pair aren’t quite household names yet. But they have one bone fide hit in Water, a swooning power-ballad with half a million YouTube views.

With people coming and going – as is the way at a festival – it would be an exaggeration to say the moment drew whoops of appreciation.

But those who had made the effort recognised the song for the delicate gem that it is and made their pleasure known.

So far away on the stage, the band smiled back.