GREEN MAN FESTIVAL 2016

Set in the lovely Brecon Beacons, Green Man returns for its 14^th year on Thursday 18^th August. Headlining this year’s edition are Belle and Sebastian, celebrating their 20^th anniversary, James Blake and Laura Marling, with Wild Beasts kicking things off on the Thursday night.

If that sounds worryingly twee to you, then don’t worry – disgust-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 Sebastian Bell, Jamie Bake, Marla Lauring and Wildebeests. What you’re here for is some newer music, which is just as well because Green Man features a number of artists who have appeared on these pages in the past.

Gengahr have, of course, gone on to vindicate their number 2 spot in the Top of the Tips 2014, with their 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 guitary psychedelia.

If you head over to the Far Out stage early on the Saturday you’ll be able to catch Sea Pinks, who we described as ‘merging highlights of The Shins and The Coral’. Stick around a bit longer and on the same stage you can also see groovers Formation, London twins tipped back in January 2015. Also on on the Saturday but at 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, forceful 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.

Words by Tom Worley