Glass celebrates Green Man Festival’s 15th birthday

THIS year marks the 15th anniversary of our favourite Welsh festival, Green Man. Located in the stunning Brecon Beacons, and named after its positive ethical approach, Green Man has put together yet another great lineup in order to celebrate its birthday in style. You can expect music, poetry, comedy, activities, talks and a glorious amount of food and drink over the three day weekend, and as if that isn’t enough, there’s always the symbolic burning of the Green Man which takes place on the last night. Festival goers can unzip their tents and wake up to the beautiful sight of the misty Welsh mountains.

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all the entertainment at a festival, so in order to make sure you make the most of it, we’ve put together a guide of things you must go and explore at Green Man.

Green Man Burn The ceremonial burning of the Green Man. Photograph: Jenna Fox

Food and Drink

It’s good news for foodies at Green Man, as you’ll be stuck for choice over what to eat over the weekend as there’ll be a huge variety of international cuisine gracing the stalls all over the festival. Beer and cider lovers will be spoilt rotten with choice as there’ll be a selection of 99 ales, ciders and perries exclusively sourced from over 20 Welsh breweries. Grab a pint in Green Man’s personalised cups and reuse them throughout the weekend to avoid waste! This year, there’ll be no curfew on the fun, as Green Man now holds a 24 hour drinks license for round the clock fun across the 8 bars at the festival. Why not enjoy a cider with your brunch? No judgement!

Music

Green Man boasts some big names this year, with PJ Harvey filling the huge headline slot. Shoegaze heroes Ride will be playing on Thursday to warm up the festival which will host some of the best new guitar bands around such as The Oh Sees, Allah-Las, Sunflower Bean, Shame and many more. Folk has always played a big part at Green Man, and this year’s lineup sees a real spectrum from Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit, the legendary Daniel Johnston, doom-folk Timbre Timbre and the return of Yorkston Thorne Khan fronted by Green Man festival favourite James Yorkston. If you’re a fan of something a bit more avant-garde, then make sure to check out Anna Meredith.

Talks

Politics will take a front seat at this year’s event, and punk rock’s favourite singer-songwriting activist Billy Bragg will be joining the Green Man gang to talk us about music, politics and his forthcoming book ‘Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed The World’. Joining Bragg on the topic of politics is Cardiff’s own Charlotte Church – who previously performed her late night pop dungeon at last year’s Green man. Also joining the lineup will be author Irvine Welsh, Richard King and Iain Sinclair.

Activities

Green Man isn’t just about the performances as there’ll be a huge range of activities and workshops to explore to keep both adults and kids entertained throughout the weekend. Einstein’s Garden is always a good starting point if you’re searching for a good adventure as there will be daily activities inspired by science and nature. Wildlife experts will be dotted around the site in order to help you discover the hidden nature living around the festival such as trees, plants, edible fungi and even creatures in the pond. If you’re feeling competitive then be sure to catch the Bonkers Balloon Science Show where audience members can race their balloons in a fun science experiment.

Comedy

This year boasts some of the best new stand up as well as some familiar faces which you may recognise from the renowned Comedy Store and Russell Howard’s good news. Be sure to catch Amir Khoshokan and sketch duo Lazy Susan for guaranteed laughter.

GM lineup

 

by Katrina Mirpuri

For more information about the festival, visit the Green Man website.

See the full line up here.

 

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Glass Music Editor

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