Dublin band Oki's Wagon will be one of a slew of acts making their first appearance at Electric Picnic this weekend. Having turned many a head on the local scene in our capital city, the six-strong group hope that an appearance at one of Europe's biggest festivals will be the next step in the band's recent emergence.

John caught up with Oki's Wagon bassist Shane Fitzgerald to find out more about what makes them tick and their thoughts ahead of what is arguably the biggest gig in their band's brief existence to date.

Tell us a little bit about Oki's Wagon. How did you guys get started, what sort of music do you play?

It originated quite organically. Naoise and Conor were sharing a house in Terenure and I lived a few minutes down the road. They would be woken every Sunday morning by me at the door with a bass over my shoulder and a bottle of red wine in his hand. Sean, who was friends with me at the time, heard what we were doing asked with a promise of a great singing voice to join us. He showed up with a bouzouki and no intention of singing. Around the same time we came across Audrey's Soundcloud profile and really liked her voice, dropped her a message and she started coming along and join in. Dan was the final member, he's the drummer for Modesto and friends of ours so was asked to join in too. As for the music we play, I guess it's easy to sum it up as folk but the array of instruments in the band make it a bit hard to categorise. Everybody has their own interest and background. So there's a bit of trad, jazz, some blues and even some ragtime thrown in. Something might start off as a jazz piece but once the banjo or bouzouki gets added in it changes the sound completely.

Are you a festival fan? What are your best memories from Picnics past?

We all love festivals, Knockanstockan and EP would be our favorites. Highlights from Electric Picnic over the years would be Sigur Ros, Robert Plant, Paul Brady, Le Galaxie, Madness, Fleet Foxes, MGMT, Kila, Modest Mouse,and Jerry Fish's tent at the end of the night.

What can people expect from an Oki's Wagon live show?

You can expect everything from uptempo folk stompers to smoky blues to raucous country and everything in between.

Are you looking forward to making your Electric Picnic debut? Would you say that this is one of your biggest gigs yet? What does it mean to you to play Ireland's biggest festival?

It's a huge honor and we're thrilled to play amongst so many great acts. If you told us this last year when we were sitting around smoking in the kitchen we would've laughed you out of the house.

Aside from yourselves, who are five acts that you recommend people should check out this weekend?

The Eskies, Richie Egan, Mikey and the Scallywags, My Fellow Sponges, Cathy Davey.

What has been the best festival show you've ever seen down the years?

Le Galaxie at the Body and Soul stage at the Picnic last year would be hard to beat. The energy was incredible, and the amazing setting didn't hurt either.

The road to success for bands can often be an arduous one. The endless travelling and gigging has been described by some as "a joyful slog". Is that something Oki's Wagon can identify with?

Definitely, you can have some great gigs and then some nights where you think, 'why did we even bother?' However, the highs definitely outweigh the lows.

What's can we expect from Oki's Wagon in the future?

We will be recording with Gavin Glass at Orphan Studios in September, and we hope to have something you can hold in your hand by the end of the year.

Oki's Wagon play Jimmie Lee's Juke Joint at Electric Picnic this Friday at 8pm

More: Oki's Wagon official website | Facebook