Half the Sprout editorial group are off to Green Man this weekend!
Here’s a guide to what the Brecon Beacons festival has in store for music lovers this weekend.
Read All About It
The Green Man Festival is held every year near Crickhowell, a small village in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It started in 2003- the 2019 Green Man will be the 19th edition. There’s music, comedy, literature and much more. It prides itself on being one of the more eco-friendly festivals, and advertises itself as being nestled among the natural beauty of the Beacons without disturbing it too much. There’s camping, but local residents can also get cheaper tickets if they promise to go home to bed at the end of the day. The press can go, for a fee, and if you can’t afford the ticket you can volunteer as a steward (which is what I’m doing!)
Music
Here are just a few of the artists Green Man attendees will be catching…
- Audiobooks are the Swansea synth pop you never knew you needed.
- Four Tet: the hilariously named ambient electronic artist and DJ comes highly recommended.
- Father John Misty, the legendary singer songwriter, sure to be the headline hit.
- IDLES, as reviewed by Soph back in March. Raging punk, make sure you’re not caught, in the crowd, taking pictures of yourself.
- Villagers, a bit of Dublin. What an amazing mugshot.
- Whitney– look like nerds but apparently good.
- Gwenno– the leading lady of the Welsh music renaissance.
- TVAM– DAE remember VHS?
Literature
- Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has prepared an experimental event: he promises a mix of meditation experience and nightclub event.
- Times columnist and author Caitlin Moran is surprisingly down to Earth, and very funny.
- Remember the Witches episode of the Sprout podcast? Maybe you’ll like Litwitchure.
- If you think you know your music, check out the Pub Quiz and the Pop Quiz, both with Pete Paphides and Bob Stanley.
Comedy
There’s a wide range of Welsh comedians as well as comedians from further afield.
- Angela Barnes, stand up and Newsjack host, as interviewed by Becca ahead of her Glee run earlier this year.
- Mike Bubbins, obviously. What a guy.
- Local legend and, by the looks of the mugshot, bartender Matt Rees.
- The amazing and sometimes bizarre Felicity Ward.
- Shelf, a mad double act. Smart humour right here.
Camping
What’s a festival without a tent? For top tips on camping at festivals check out some of our articles from yesteryear…
Carys’ essential tips to survive a British music Festival:
How to deal with Festival Struggles
And here’s reviews from Tom Bevan at Green Man 2018.
Sadly we couldn’t get press this year, but Declan and I will be stewarding, and Soph will be reviewing for the Guardian (she’s gonna be busy!) so keep an eye out for us if you’re going and consider the Guardian coverage as definitive.
Cover image used: Green Man 2018- Burning the Man from Tudor.