Arguably the summer’s nicest and prettiest sited festival, its closest rival is End of the Road, in Dorset in September. The Green Man offers a stunning location in the Brecon Beacons of Wales, There is plenty to do that isn’t music, including talks, films and activities, and a list of artists who bathe in acclaim: Belle & Sebastian, James Blake, Julia Holter, Jason Isbell, White Denim, Floating Points and many more. Do take waterproofs though: Green Man has a reputation for wetness.
Set in the lovely Brecon Beacons, Green Man returns for its 14th year on Thursday 18th August. Headlining this year’s edition are a plethora of British acts Belle and Sebastian, are celebrating their 20th anniversary, James Blake and Laura Marling, with the Wild Beasts kicking things off on the Thursday night.
If that sounds worryingly light to you, then don’t worry chaotic merchants Fat White Family will be there, as will Aussie psychedelics Jagwar Ma and lo-fi rockers Unknown Mortal Orchestra. And, err, Charlotte Church’s Late Night Pop Dungeon.
But if you’re here then you’ve probably already heard of the above headliners . What you’re here for is some newer music, which is just as well because Green Man features a number of artists who you need to check out and also includes the excellent Rising Stage for new and upcoming artists .
Gengahr have been one of my favourites for this last year to see , a hardworking band that has emerged over the last two years with strong songs and a great live presence they have, of course, gone on to vindicate their number 2 spot in the Top of the Tips 2014, with their superb debut album “A Dream Outside” receiving rave reviews last year. The Londoners will be worth catching on the main Mountain Stage on Sunday afternoon if you’re into dreamy guitar driven sounds.
If you head over to the Far Out Stage early on the Saturday you’ll be able to catch Belfast band Sea Pinks, who we described as ‘merging indie stars. Stick around a bit longer and on the same stage you can also see groovers Formation, They are London twins tipped back in January 2015. Also on on the Saturday worth checking in the Walled Garden is Ardyn, who we labelled ‘dark indie pop’ and likened to Austra and Charlotte OC.
The Green Man Rising competition was this year won by Tony Njoku, who opens the Mountain Stage on Friday and is described by the festival as making ‘strikingly evocative soundscapes’. One of the competition runners-up who’ll be playing the Rising Stage on the Saturday is self-described ‘jangle pop’ duo Her’s; we loved their dreamy debut ‘Dorothy’ back in April. You can also hear the exciting new project from Sarah Howells from Paper Aeroplanes, Bryde at the Rising Stage on Saturday, and on Sunday you might want to catch Matt Maltese who we bracketed in with Tom Odell last year.
So to everyone that’s off to Green Man Festival this weekend ,eat well, take your water proofs and enjoy yourselves. Here’s our big list of recommendations:
Flamingods, Trevor Sensor, Floating Points, Ryley Walker, White Denim , Dungen , Beak , Oh Sister, SUUNS, Mothers, Happy Meal Ltd., FEWS. and of course you should not miss King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard. and try if you can to check out Baba Naga and Lush’s return.
Songhoy Blues The quartet are set to play the Mountain Stage on Sunday 21st August, and hopefully their fusion of traditional West African guitar riffs and deep rooted bluesy yet totally danceable beats will match the weather. Hailing from Mali, Songhoy Blues have seen success here of late, having played at The Great Escape Festival in May and several other European festivals this summer after the release of their latest album ‘Music In Exhile’.
Whitney The band from Chicago have been growing in notoriety as of late, with their brooding brand of indie-rock making waves this side of the pond. They’re ones to watch, and will be fantastically unique to see them perform in such an idyllic setting.
Margaret Glaspy could be a suprise highlight, The Californian’s debut record is raw at times, always honest and chock full of wry observations and personal disclosures. Production values of Emotions and Math are intentionally subtle, always placing Margaret Glaspy’s bluesy voice and her coarse guitar front and centre. This should make for a thrilling Sunday afternoon on the Mountain Stage.
Julia Holter is definitely appreciated in this country. A tour in the spring saw her successfully support the release of Have You in My Wilderness and she’ll be returning for another extended stay in November. What’s the appeal? Well, we can be an eccentric bunch over here in the UK and this record is full of gloriously idiosyncratic musical moments along with her incredible vocals that just click in the most agreeable way. The Mountain Stage will be the perfect place to meet up with this warm-hearted Californian.
Bryde is a new project from Sarah Howells’ who is known to many as one half of Welsh duo Paper Aeroplanes but she arrives in the Black Mountains of the Brecon Beacons as Bryde this year. She began the solo project in 2015 and the Rising tent should be an amazing way to experience Howell’s compellingly fragile compositions which hint at something much darker, lurking in the shadows.
Tindersticks Formed twenty-five years ago in Nottingham, the alt-rockers are set to play the Mountain Stage on the Saturday, just before the rollicking rhythms of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and headliner Laura Marling. Their elegant and heart-warming brand of alt-rock will certainly have us a) contemplating life and everything in between, and b) dancing in a field to our hearts content.
Check out The Cinedrome
We will most likely be paying more attention to the bands playing across the weekend, but the festival organisers have drummed up some must-see films for this years ‘At The Cinedrome’, including movies Purple Rain and Labyrinth (clearly in homage to the late David Bowie and Prince), as well as The Jungle Book, Inside Out, High Rise and sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis with a live piano player.
we’ve add nine new fantastic flicks to the already bumper packed Cinedrome.
We’re very pleased to be showing the UK premier of one of the funniest and most delightful films of the year – Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film, written and directed by Taika Waititi.
We also welcome a very special BAFTA Cymru screening of Gary Numan: Android In La La Land, the brand new Gary Numan documentary which explores life for Gary and his Numanoid family as they set up home in California and as Gary records his 2013 album ‘Splinter’.
Our day of David Bowie themed activities begins with an anniversary screening of Jim Henson’s ’80s cult hit Labyrinth Movie. On Sunday we remember another tragically fallen idol with a presentation of Prince’s Purple Rain.
On Sunday morning, we’ll be showing Disney’s new version of classic The Jungle Book, which will keep Little Folks (and their parents) mesmerised for a few hours.. Plus we have – Midnight Special Movie,Starman, Everybody Wants Some Movie, Couple In a Hole. Not only will you be able to feast your eyes upon family favourites and cult classics galore, you can also enjoy the sounds of Cate le Bon’s drummer Droor and dance the blues at Green Man’s latest (and very hush hush) venture, the Late Night David Bowie Disco; you’ll have to see it for yourselves
Giggle along with Green Man 2016 as we take a first look at this year’s comedy line-up. Chuckling along to some of the UK’s best up-and-coming comics has become a quintessential part of the Green Man experience, and this year’s laugh-a-minute line-up promises to be pretty special.
If you can’t choose between music and comedy, you need The Horne Section in your life. Comedian Alex Horne and his talented troubadours combine spontaneous stand-up with improvised tunes, resulting in a hilarious hybrid. John Shuttleworth is responsible for some ingeniously funny songs; don’t miss the old school entertainer singing about school dinners and Curly Wurly wrappers.
The belly-laugh-inducing brilliance of David Trent promises to have you guffawing into your Growlers. Also the fantastically delusional one-man-band antics of Rob Deering Comedian returns for GM16 (along with Beat This!) and the skilful self-deprecation of Angela Barnes.
The Fat Angel Sings 