Photo: Richard Gray
Basically a big party up in the mountains – it’s in the heart of South Wales’ beautiful Brecon Beacons – the festival has an aptly wild, druid vibe, culminating with the ceremonial burning of a huge green wicker man. We were won over by it years ago – check out our 11 killer festival moments to see why you should be too.
Charlotte Church's pop dungeon was a revalation
If you haven’t already heard of this brace yourself: Wales’ unofficial princess will (hopefully) be storming a dance floor near you in the not-so-distant future. Decked out in sequins and joined by a gang of back-up singers, Charlotte Church belted her way through an immense set of classic tunes, taking in everything from Nine Inch Nails and Neutral Milk Hotel to pop masterpieces like Indeep’s ‘Last Night a DJ Saved My Life’ and a downright amazing mash-up of R Kelly (yes – R Kelly, don’t judge us) tracks. This queen had the whole of the Walled Garden stage worshipping at the alter of music, and it was by all accounts one of the best acts of the whole festival.
Michael Rother treated us to some old school Krautrock
Looking insanely sprightly for his 65 years, NEU! sticker (the groundbreaking band he founded in 1971) planted firmly in the middle of his Mac lid for all to see, Michael Rother launched immediately into an entrancing, hypnotic and driving set, at once all-engulfing but also robotic and Cold War-esque. The Krautrock legend paused briefly between first and second tracks: “Thank you for joining us. There will be no talking.” Ironic? Hard to say. But flanked by visuals of driving roads and thrusting machines as he peddled his electronic wares, none of us cared – we were his.
Kamasi Washington blew away the Far Out tent
After a few false starts – and about 45 minutes late – this saxophonist from another planet finally took to the stage…and blew the lid off the Far Out tent. As the crowd gave it up to his funk-infused jazz, Kamasi Washiington threw in a couple of treats, firstly his dad joined him on stage (on jazz flute) for a track about his grandmother. Then double-bass player Miles Mosley performed a solo tune from his own studio album: part jazz, part smooth 70s soul, and 100% groovy – it had festival-goers talking about it for days. Singer Patrice Quinn simply radiated power and magnificence, turning what could have been a mere back-up vocals performance into something completely her own, with a voice that broke our hearts and lifting them up all at once. Mesmeric.
Battles reminded us what visceral live music should sound like
It’s not often that we believe “best live band in the world” hype, but with Battles’ performance this weekend we’ve been pretty much won over. ‘Atlas’ was a stand-out track but the whole set had the crowd in disbelief – nothing on record can prepare you for the visceral experience of catching this band live. John Stanier, an absolute monster on drums – with his cymbal placed up so high it defied gravity that he managed to hit it on time, every time (but hell, he did) – took front and centre as the instrumental, almost primal, set thumped and pulsed its way through each and every one of us. Another act that people were talking about days after.
Deep Throat Choir made us smile
With bright costumes, dirty lyrics, and radiating the pure joy of female friendship, Hackney’s Deep Throat Choir got us smiling through the midday drizzle on Saturday. Using simply percussion and the power of the human voice, this squad of vocal warriors took us through soul and pop – including a very special cover of Sade’s ‘Sweetest Taboo’ – and treated us to the sassiest series of solos of the entire festival.
Whitney broke a few hearts
Whitney supplied some mellow feel-good vibes on the early evening of Sunday – after we were lucky enough to catch them filming a session in the media area – with warm, glowing tunes to match their matey onstage presence. We all swayed along to album favourites like ‘Golden Days’ and ‘No Matter Where We Go’ but it was the surprise Bob Dylan cover and frontman Julian Ehrlich’s wistful, almost nostalgic vocals that took centre stage. That and Ehrlich’s inter-track chat with a young audience member – Toby, about five years old on his dad’s shoulders. Topics of conversation ranged from Toby’s sweet Black Sabbath t-shirt to how him and the band could become pen pals after the festival. Hearts throughout the Walled Garden promptly melted.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra turned lo-fi into epic
Just after his former bandmate Julian Ehrlich wound up the Whitney set, Ruban Nielson took to the stage with his outfit, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, at the Far Out Tent. Quincy McCrary gave us an epic, virtuoso solo on keys, while Jake Portrait grooved along with funk-laden basslines and Nielson scaled the dizzying (and frankly, quite dangerous) heights of the tent scaffolding to serenade us from above. The crowd sung along joyfully to the soulful shimmer of ‘So Good at Being in Trouble’, and the proggy, solo-ridden set reminded us that personal, often introspective music created in a Portland basement can very translate to a festival main stage.
Warpaint were formidable
The wind picked up again for Warpaint’s set, but far from dampening the occasion, they lifted the final evening. These formidable women cut a dramatic scene on stage, jamming and grooving their way through the set with their now infamous musical skill, but it was the faultless harmonies of their older material from debut record The Fool that really set the stage ablaze. Haunting, searching, wild, tribal almost – their voices descended perfectly into the wilderness all about them, the wind and rain lashing down as the mountains loomed in the distance. The spell was only broken when Theresa Wayman treated us to her best Scottish accent…not realising we were very much in Wales.
Grandaddy took us back to our indie years
Indie kids of the late 90s: we can officially report that hearing ‘A.M. 180’ played live, while joyfully dancing with a thousand strangers in a big tent, is an experience you need to seek out. Their first show in four (count them – FOUR) years, Jason Lytle’s still cosmic, lilting voice took us through the back catalogue of favourites, delivered with gusto and emotion; the new tracks were killer too. We couldn’t have been happier.
We went primeval by burning the Green Man
After the headliners were done with us, the whole festival gathered for the ritualistic burning of the Green Man. The whicker centre to the previous days’ proceedings, sitting right in the middle of the action, he’d become a strange part of our lives – always there, with his huge verdant arm outstretched to the skies, and covered in handwritten notes, wishes from young and old alike. It would have been sad to see him go up in flames if it hadn’t been so beautiful, accompanied by sparkling fireworks and that bonding, primeval feeling that goes hand-in-hand with humans and fire.
DJ Yoda spun the best goddam final set we could have asked for
Yoda brought us right back down to earth, crashing onto the dancefloor with an intoxicating mix of absolutely massive tunes – it was wall to wall bangers in the Far Out Tent for the final heady hours of Green Man. The master craftsman of turntablism spun everything from Bowie and Motown, from to Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre and DJ shadow, to an amazing Stranger Things inspired set. The perfect end to the perfect festival, our dancing feet are still aching now…and it was 100% worth it.
