The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular alternative, indie, rock, folk, dance and Americana). The festival site is divided into 10 areas, hosting literature, film, comedy, science, theatre, wellness and family acts.
A woman framed by bubbles at Green Man Festival 2021
Renowned for its non-corporate, ethical approach, the Green Man Festival has won several awards including "Best Medium Sized Festival 2010",[1] and "Grass Roots Festival 2012".[2] In 2015, Green Man won "Best Festival" at the Live Music Business Awards.[2] As Owner and Managing Director, Fiona Stewart received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the UK Festival Awards in 2013.[3] It is the largest contemporary music and arts festival in Wales and has been given major event status by Welsh Government due to the festival's positive impact and wealth creation.[4]
Green Man receives regular features and reviews in international, national and local press. It was previously awarded 5 star reviews by the Guardian,[5]NME[6] and iPaper.[7]The Quietus stated that it "stakes its claim as one of Europe's very finest festivals",[8] the Guardian wrote that the 2018 festival "proved again why Green Man is one of the UK's most beloved festivals"[9] and Cosmopolitan stated that "Green Man is the most queer-friendly festival in the UK".[10]
Line-ups
The Green Man Festival line-ups have featured many notable bands over the years.[11]
2023
Devo, First Aid Kit, Self Esteem, Spiritualized, Amyl & The Sniffers, Slowdive, Young Fathers, The Walkmen, Confidence Man, Goat, The Comet Is Coming, Squid, Lankum, Horace Andy ft. Dub Asante Band, Sudan Archives, Snail Mail, Jockstrap, Warmduscher, Gilla Band, Les Savy Fav, The Delgados, The Wedding Present, Beth Orton, Obongjayar, Billy Nomates, Bob Vylan, Daniel Avery (live), Dur-Dur Band Int., Courtney Marie Andrews, Buck Meek, James Holden, Sorry, PVA, Clipping., Girl Ray, Julie Byrne, Lost Map presents Weird Wave, Rozi Plain, Alabaster Deplume, Kanda Bongo Man, Special Interest, Gina Birch, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Anna B Savage, Cory Hanson, Etran D’el Air, The Orielles, Melin Melyn, The Bug Club, Josephine Foster, Christian Lee Hutson, Sarah Jarosz, Say She She, James Ellis Ford, Marie Davidson DJ, Arushi Jain, H. Hawkline, Crows, Water From Your Eyes, Floodlights, Julie, Thus Love, Plastic Mermaids, Alice Boman, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Nuha Ruby Ra, Spencer Cullum, deathcrash, Yasmin Williams, Aoife Nessa Frances, Oscar Lang, Mega Bog, Σtella, Eaves Wilder, Gently Tender, Fat Dog, MADMADMAD, Hagop Tchaparian, Deptford Northern Soul Club, 4am Kru, Free Love, Drahla, The Gentle Good, Etta Marcus, Sans Soucis, Sister Wives, Sam Akpro, Brad Stank, Bricknasty, Juni Habel, Clara Mann, DD Darillo, Aisha Vaughan, Rogue Jones, Butch Kassidy, Cumgirl8, Freak Slug, Hyll, Island of Love, Joyeria, Lady Maisery, The Last Dinner Party, Lilo, Mandy, Indiana, Mary in the Junkyard, Minor Conflict, Morgon Noise, Oslo Twins, The Outlines, Pencil, Seb Lowe, Spielmann, Suep, uh, University, Yabba, Ziyad Al-Samman
2022
Kraftwerk, Michael Kiwanuka, Beach House, Metronomy, Bicep (live), Parquet Courts, Low, Kae Tempest, Cate Le Bon, Ty Segall & Freedom Band, Ezra Furman, Dry Cleaning, Tune-Yards, Yves Tumor, Black Country, New Road, Jenny Hval, Arab Strap, Valerie June, Alex G, Arooj Aftab, Viagra Boys, Mdou Moctar, Orchestra Baobab, The Murder Capital, Witch, Mary Lattimore, Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler, Willie J Healey, Frazey Ford, Torres, Donny Benét, BCUC, Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul, Nia Archives, Carwyn Ellis & Rio18 w/BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ichiko Aoba, Sofia Kourtesis, Optimo (Espacio), Lone, Nathan Fake (live), Lice, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Scalping, Cassandra Jenkins, Sugar Candy Mountain, Wesley Gonzalez, James Yorkston & Second Hand Orchestra, Katy J Pearson, John Francis Flynn, Pip Blom, Pictish Trail, Penelope Isles, Minyo Crusaders, Marisa Anderson & William Tyler, Ural Thomas & The Pain, El Goodo, Modern Nature, Planningtorock, Balimaya Project, Prima Queen, Group Listening, Keeley Forsyth, Soccer96, Charles Watson, Art School Girlfriend, Grove, Indigo De Souza, Gretel Hanlyn, Bess Atwell, Cola, Gotts Street Park, Ethan P. Flynn, Naima Bock, Annie Hart, Adwaith, Elanor Moss, John Mouse, Maria Somerville, Strawberry Guy, Katherine Priddy, Melin Melyn, Wunderhorse, The Umlauts, Keg, Honeyglaze, Mandrake Handshake, Lucy Gooch, Sophie Jamieson, Jessica Winter, Pregoblin, Brian Destiny (Dash The Henge), Papur Wal, Maria BC, Rhodri Davies, Cerys Hafana, Eli Smart, Dactyl Terra, Ailsa Tully, Alice Low, Bingo Fury, Blue Bendy, Bonnie Kemplay, Deathcrash, English Teacher, Joe & The Shitboys, Kathleen Frances, Lemondaze, Lime Garden, M(h)aol, Mickey Callisto, Pushpin, Preen Porij, Robocobra Quartet, Tapir!, Tara Clerkin Trio, Tenderhost, The Deep Blue, Unschooling
Mogwai, Caribou, Fontaines D.C, Tirzah, Thundercat, Teenage Fanclub, Django Django, This Is The Kit, Jose Gonzalez, Gruff Rhys, The Staves, Nadine Shah, Black Midi, Shame, Lump, Kokoroko, BC Camplight, Nubya Garcia, Self Esteem, Richard Dawson, Kelly Lee Owens, Ghost Poet, Greentea Peng, Georgia, Snapped Ankles, Goat Girl, Billie Marten, Erland Cooper, Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, Gwenno, Vanishing Twin, Porridge Radio, Viagra Boys, Working Men's Club, Boy Azooga, Ross From Friends (live), The Orielles, Matt Maltese, Emma-Jean Thackray, Pictish Trail, The Surfing Magazines, Peggy Sue, Yazmin Lacey, Overmono, Los Bitchos, Big Joanie, Jockstrap, Crack Cloud, Giant Swan, DJ Rap, Stephen Fretwell, Hen Ogledd, Alabaster DePlume, Falle Nioke, Liz Lawrence, Wu-Lu, Katy J Pearson, Steam Down, PVA, Sinead O’Brien, Phoebe Green, NewDad, King Hannah, Hak Baker, H.Hawkline, Loraine James, Hannah Holland, Sarathy Korwar, Deep Throat Choir, Broadside Hacks, Fenne Lily, Ed Dowie, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Peaness, Home Counties, Yard Act, The Lounge Society, Wet Leg, Matilda Mann, Gwenifer Raymond, Studio Electrophonique, Tony Njoku, LYR, John, The Golden Dregs, Deliluh, The Cool Greenhouse, Speedboat, Blood Wizard, Bugs, Caroline, Do Nothing, Drug Store Romeos, Duski, Egyptian Blue, Iwan Rheon, The Goa Express, Gonhill, Hanya, Laundromat, Lazarus Kane, Martha Skye Murphy, Melin Melyn, Modern Woman, Nuha Ruby Ra, Panic Shack, Pet Deaths, Prima Queen, Roscoe Roscoe, Sister Wives, Teddy Hunter, Tina, Alfresco Disco, Art School Girlfriend DJ, Big Jeff, Birthday Club, Charlotte Church's Late Night Pop Dungeon, Deptford Northern Soul Club, Dutty Disco, Hot Singles Club
Green Man Festival was founded by Jo Bartlett and Danny Hagan as a 300-person one-day event at Craig-y-Nos Castle, Brecon, in 2003 . The festival moved to Baskerville Hall, outside Hay-on-Wye, for a two-day event in 2004, and by 2005 it had evolved into a three-day event. The festival was attended by 300 people in 2003, its first year, by 1,000 in 2004, and by 3,000 in 2005 . Fiona Stewart joined in 2006 as joint Managing Director. In the same year, Press Officer Ken Lower was made a non-voting minority shareholder, and the team moved the festival to its current location on Glanusk Park near Crickhowell, in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales[15] and increased Green Man to a 6,000 capacity festival. In 2009 Danny Hagan resigned as Director,[16] retaining his shares, and Ken Lower sold his shares. In 2011 Jo and Danny sold their shares to Fiona Stewart and left the company.[17] Fiona increased the capacity from 15,000 to 25,000 and Green Man is currently the only major independent UK music festival to have a female director with controlling ownership.
The Green Man statue, which is set on fire at the end of each Green Man Festival
As well as music areas, the festival has a wellness and spa, children and teen zones, a science engagement area called Einstein's Garden, tents for literature, film and comedy. The festival regularly sells out months in advance and in 2018 contributed £10.4 million to the Welsh economy.[21]
Green Man Festival refuses commercial sponsorship and therefore can focus on local Welsh food and drink providers, rather than being tied into corporate deals.[19] It directly employs its workers, paying a living wage.[22] The festival has a strong ethical and environmental focus, using solar power as much as possible. The food and drink services are required to meet standards such as being Fairtrade, Red Tractor and Marine Conservation Society accredited. In 2019, Help Refugees (now known as Choose Love) and Newport to Calais Aid Collective collected donated tents to be recycled and reused.[23] The festival has never used single-use plastics and encourages caterers to use Welsh produce.[22]
Charities, community work and regional partnerships
The festival is a charitable partner of The Bevan Foundation and Oxfam Cymru, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, RSPB Cymru and Brecon Beacons National Park Authority all host stalls at the festival. Each year 40 stalls (worth over £17,000) are allocated to Welsh Charities and Not-for-Profit Organisations. £20,000 is raised annually for local arts and sports projects through a stall run by the Cwmdu Friends. In 2013 more than £16,000 was raised for a charitable trip to Uganda for students at the local Crickhowell High School. Since 2010, Green Man has raised £250,000 of donations for charities. A 2015 UK Music report, compiled based on research from Oxford Economics, identified Green Man, alongside the Wales Millennium Centre, as a major driver of Music Tourism in Wales.[24] In 2021 Green Man partnered with My Discombobulated Brain, a Welsh mental health charity, to train their stewards in Mental Health Awareness.
Green Man Trust
The Green Man Trust is the charitable wing of the festival, its aim is to create arts development programmes, training opportunities, science engagement and bring about positive change to Welsh communities. The current ambassador for Green Man Trust is Welsh actor and musician, Iwan Rheon,[25] whose work has included Game of Thrones, Misfits and Riviera. As of 2020, it had provided 92 community grants, supported more than 5,000 emerging artists, trained over 2,000 people and funded more than 200 science projects.[23] Training programs have included partnering with Merthyr Tydfil College and the Salvation Army in Cardiff to give training and mentoring to young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2020, the trust pledged an emergency fund supporting Welsh people affected by flooding caused by Storm Dennis.[26] and raised over £20,000.
Other ventures
Launched in 2008, Green Man Rising is an annual contest in which an emerging act is chosen by a panel of music industry experts to open the Mountain Stage on the first day of the festival.
Green Man Growler is the festival's specially brewed beer, it has been sold at the festival since 2012 and was made available to buy online as a canned beer in 2020.
In 2006, Green Man hosted its first annual Boat Party on the River Thames. The event usually featured a line-up of both live music and DJ sets and a bar. The last boat party in 2012 featured performances by Field Music, Three Trapped Tigers and Tom Williams & The Boat. In 2016, Green Man renamed the boat party Green Man Ahoy!. The event took place on 7 May 2016 and featured Slow Club, Gengahr and Palace Winter.[27]
In September 2015, the Green Man took its Courtyard bar to King's Cross in London for a four-day celebration of Welsh beer and cider. Over 180 beers and ciders were bought from independent Welsh brewers. Live music came from Ibibio Sound Machine, Stealing Sheep, Boxed In, Meilyr Jones, C Duncan, Cairobi and The Wave Pictures. The line-up on the Sunday was co-curated with Moshi Moshi Records.[28]
Busk On The Usk was a free one-day festival held in Newport, South Wales at various locations along the banks of the River Usk. The event was The Welsh Contemporary Music's contribution to the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and was co-produced by Fiona Stewart. The event featured a program of live music, discussions and lectures, art installations and local food stalls. The event was organised by Green Man with help from the people of Newport along with contributions from a number of Wales’ most important cultural organisations including Sŵn Festival, the Do Lectures, the Laugharne Weekend, the Bevan Foundation, the Centre for Regeneration Excellence Wales, Riverfront Theatre, University of Wales Newport and Arts Council Wales. The music line-up included Scritti Politti, Anna Calvi, Cate Le Bon and Jon Langford. An estimated 6,000 people attended the event.[citation needed]
Abergavenny is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a Gateway to Wales; it is approximately 6 miles (10 km) from the border with England and is located where the A40 trunk road and the recently upgraded A465 Heads of the Valleys road meet.
Hay-on-Wye, known locally as Hay, is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Festival.
Brecon, archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Brecknockshire (Breconshire); although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of the County of Powys, it remains an important local centre. Brecon is the third-largest town in Powys, after Newtown and Ystradgynlais. It lies north of the Brecon Beacons mountain range, but is just within the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Dafydd Iwan Jones is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which advocates for Welsh independence from the UK.
Crickhowell is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire.
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Mogwai are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite, Barry Burns, Dominic Aitchison, and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwai typically compose lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that feature dynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy use of distortion and effects.
Stuart Leslie Braithwaite is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter. He is the guitarist of post-rock band Mogwai, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums. He is also a member of the British alternative rock supergroups Minor Victories and Silver Moth. He has used the name Plasmatron in the credits of Mogwai's debut album Mogwai Young Team, as a social media handle, and as the name of his signature guitar pedal.
Richard James is a guitarist, bassist and singer-songwriter originally from Carmarthen, Wales. He was a founding member of the band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, who split up in 2006. He performs and records as a solo artist, and as part of the bands Pen Pastwn and Locus.
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Fiona Stewart is managing director and owner of the Green Man Festival, an annual independent music festival in Wales. She also sits as chair of the Green Man Trust, a charitable organisation. Stewart has worked as a consultant for the British Council and the Foreign Office. She has previously worked at Glastonbury Festival and Big Chill.
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Michael Samuel Kiwanuka is a British singer-songwriter and record producer who is signed with Polydor Records. His 2012 debut album, Home Again, went gold in the United Kingdom and his second album, Love & Hate, debuted in 2016 at number one. He has been nominated for numerous honours, including the Brit Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, BBC Music Awards, and The Grammy Awards. In January 2012, he won the BBC's Sound of 2012; and, in September 2020, he won the Mercury Prize.
Stephen Black, also known by his stage name Sweet Baboo, is a Welsh musician. Before becoming a solo artist, he played with the band JT MOuse. Alongside his solo work, he has also played with many other artists, including Gruff Rhys, Cate Le Bon, Euros Childs, Piney Gir and Slow Club. He is bilingual in Welsh and English but usually sings in English.
Kizzy Crawford, known as Kizzy, is a singer songwriter of Bajan heritage who sings in both English and Welsh, using traditional and modern sources. She began writing songs at the age of thirteen.
Huw Evans, also known as H. Hawkline, is a Welsh singer-songwriter and radio and television presenter based in Cardiff. He also lived and worked in Los Angeles for several years. He performs in both English and Welsh. His stage name is taken from Richard Brautigan's book The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western.
Boy Azooga are a Welsh indie rock group from Cardiff, Wales. Formed in 2017, the group is led by front man Davey Newington, who is joined live by band members Dafydd Davies (drums), Sam Barnes (bass), and Dylan Morgan (keyboard).
Adwaith (transl. Reaction) are a Welsh language indie rock group from Carmarthen in West Wales, formed in 2015. The group consists of Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony and Heledd Owen (drums). Signed to Libertino Records, they released their first album Melyn in 2018. Both Melyn and its follow-up Bato Mato (2022) won Welsh Music Prize awarded for the best album from Wales, making Adwaith the first act to receive the award twice.
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