Green Man Festival review: a magic all of its own
Through unique and trend-resistant bookings as well as its stunning setting, the Welsh festival furthers its reputation as one of the UK’s very best.
No other UK festival of Green Man’s size offers quite as much musical variety. In an era of identikit line-ups and trend-chasing, the Welsh festival – now in its 22nd year – programmes techno, folk, indie and beyond, with its ethical ethos around sustainability and lack of corporate sponsorship also extending to its booking of artists. It’s reflected in the fiercely loyal fanbase the festival has cultivated; this year, the 25,000 tickets sold out in two hours without a single act being announced.
“This is the best festival in the world,” Black Country, New Road drummer Charlie Wayne says on Sunday afternoon, with Blondshell also commenting earlier in the day that the event is the most beautiful she’s ever played. Peek behind the Mountain Stage she’s playing her crunchy ‘90s alt-rock on and the awe-inspiring Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) that tower over the festival back up her point.
Also playing in the one-of-a-kind natural amphitheatre that hosts the main stage include the post-dubstep-turned-shoegaze favourites Mount Kimbie (with added King Krule), Jon Hopkins, whose Friday night set swerves his recent ambient turn and instead plumps for heart-thumping techno. Also impressive are US alt-country favourites Wednesday and the simply joyous Ezra Collective.
As well as the setting, it’s Green Man’s ethos that makes artists feel so loved and at home here. If the festival wants to go against the grain, they require the same energy from their bookings too. As a result, some of the weekend’s biggest sets delightfully buck the safe trend of festival crowd-pleasing. On Saturday night, Big Thief debut a new line-up and a headline setlist half-filled with unreleased songs. Adding a second drummer gives more groove to ‘Not’, ‘Simulation Swarm’ and others, while new tracks traverse post-rock, country and more, all leading to the astonishing, tear-jerking finale of new track ‘Incomprehensible’.
It’s the same for the constantly shape-shifting Black Country, New Road, who have now moved past their initial post-Isaac Wood rebirth with the Live At Bush Hall album, and play a set almost entirely made up of new songs on the Mountain Stage. Wood’s departure opened the door for Tyler Hyde, May Kershaw and Georgia Ellery to share songwriting duties, with all three taking the band further away from their post-punk beginnings and towards folk, baroque and beyond. Most stunning of the new material is ‘The Mare of Cambridge’, which sees Kershaw conduct her bandmates – all playing the recorder – through a delightful and delicate gem.
Keep your eyes peeled across the weekend and you might also end up at a wedding, specifically that of The Big Moon singer Juliette Jackson, who met her now-husband at Green Man over a decade ago, got engaged on stage at the festival, and now ties the knot here. Other delights include a Friday morning Pride march, an appearance from the world-famous puppet Little Amal, and the late-night favourite that is the secret drag bar Wishbone.
After dark, the Far Out tent hosts sweaty late-night sets from Sherelle and Joy Orbison, with the latter’s set featuring a thumping and raucous unreleased remix of Fontaines D.C.’s ‘Starburster’. In the Walled Garden – a far more tranquil setting – Jess Williamson delights on Friday with bright and sentimental country songs from her Waxahatchee collaborative album under the Plains name, and from her excellent 2023 album Time Ain’t Accidental. Also heard in the picturesque garden over the weekend is the throwback college rock of The Tubs, the foreboding Irish trad of John Francis Flynn and Lutalo’s weaving guitar lines and honeyed vocals.
On Saturday, the Mountain Stage is opened by the delightfully sweary and sleazy Lynks; 24 hours later it hosts pristine and soft blues covers from 17-year-old singer Muireann Bradley. Both acts feel entirely at home together at Green Man though, standing as testament to a festival that deliberately zigs when others zag, and annually welcomes a devoted community of artists and fans that relish the challenge.