Museyon’s Guide to…Green Man Festival

For the past seven years Wales has been host to the Green Man Festival but what exactly is a ‘Green Man?’ Well, a green man is a nature or wood diety who represents the cycle of growth each spring. Think Puck from a Midsummer’s Night Dream, Osiris, Odin or even Peter Pan and Father Christmas. In Wales and other locations in the British Isles, the Green Man is a Celtic deity named Viridios whose name can literally be translated to “Green Man” in both the Celtic languages and Latin.
 

The Green Man Festival, August 20th – 22nd, holds fast to those natural ideals its namesake represents and has created an event that is conscious of the environment and whose goal is not only to provide one kick-ass time but also to educate about green practices. Last year the site was littered with surprises, many having to do with the environment like ‘Einstein’s Garden’, which combined science, green issues and art and this year will have the same.

The line-up for this year’s festival includes Doves, Flaming Lips, Joanna Newsom, Beirut, Billy Bragg, Tindersticks, Mumford And Sons Fuck Buttons, Efterklang, Laura Marling, Wild Beasts, Girls, John Grant, Steve Mason, Fionn Regan, Tallest Man On Earth, Field Music ,The Unthanks ,Alasdair Roberts, These New Puritans, Johnny Flynn, Bear in Heaven, Sleepy Sun, Neon Indian, Avi Buffalo, First Aid Kit, Mountain Man, Fanfarlo, Voice of the Seven Thunders, Silver Columns, The Hundred In The Hands, Erland And The Carnival, Chew Lips, Darwin Deez, Summer Camp, Lone Wolf, The Besnard Lakes, Megafaun and others on the main stage as well as late-night dj sets and smaller performances in the Pub.
 
Tips:
If camping, you’ll need: Tent, Sleeping bag, Clothes for warm and cold weather, Waterproofs, Wellies (rain boots), Toilet paper, Sun cream, Sunhat and Torch (flashlight)
Hog Weed: It looks like large parsley, grows near the river and will keep you itching the entire festival.
Babysitting: Woe to leave your festival days behind you now that you’re a parent. Not at Green Man, there is a babysitting service on site complete with a kid friendly area for the wee bairns to run wild in.
Food/Beverage: There are five licensed bars on site as well as a row of food stalls serving international cuisine.
Cleanliness: The toilets on site will be cleaned regularly, there are hot showers and there plenty of standpipes supplying water suitable for washing and drinking.
 
Access:
By car: The festival site is located near Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons on the A40. Cars with 1 or 2 passengers require a Car Park Ticket, (if there are more of you, you park free). Tickets cost £5 each (more on the door) and we are reinvesting the money into providing free shuttle busses from Abergavenny Station.
By bus: Festival Coaches are providing coaches from across the UK, click here for more details.
By train: The nearest train station is Abergavenny.
Shuttle bus from train station: Abergavenny Station to festival shuttle busses run from the first train of the day to the last train of the day on Thursday and Friday. Festival to Abergavenny Station shuttle busses start running again all day on Sunday and until Monday afternoon. When leaving site, please be advised to leave approx. 1.5 hours to get from the festival site to the train station.