You can’t write about Green Man without mentioning its gorgeous locale – Wales’s verdant Brecon Beacons, where the towering hills and long, winding roads are dotted by sheep utterly undaunted by the cars making their way to the festival. The natural beauty isn’t the main draw, but then, it can’t just be the expertly curated music, comedy shows, or panels, either – how, otherwise, to explain Green Man 2025 selling out in just 60 minutes, long before its lineup was announced? The answer is that its appeal transcends billing, lying at that nebulous, indefinable intersection where people, music and nature coalesce to create, well – it’s just a vibe, isn’t it?
Green Man 2025’s headliners are impressive, certainly: Northern Ireland’s answer to the Beastie Boys, Kneecap; taut neo-indie rock troupe Wet Leg; Welsh electronic titans Underworld; and stormy, soulful art-rockers TV on the Radio. Yet, before I see any music, it’s the atmosphere I'm taking in: eating the best vegan steak and mash of my life, trying out a theremin at one of the many festival booths, and passing a host of children launching colourful diabolos into the air. Everyone I see is dressed to express – wearing flower crowns, fox ears, sequinned jackets, squirrel tails, Palestine flags.
