How was it for you?

Settlers - Nice to bump into Elizabeth and family in the box office on arrival, also Krasnyi later in the day. There with friends this year so mostly mooching around, swam in the Usk at Llangynidr, beautiful.

Thursday - International Teachers of Pop, excellent start, not too serious, quality dancing. Off to Forum meet very briefly, had to dash elsewhere but nice to see Peridot and BITF again. Pictish Trail, superb set, very polished. Saw a bit of Bas Jan, not for me. Back to tent.

Friday - Lovely Eggs, great fun start to the day. Duds next, their jazz style noodlings drove me away after 30 mns. Over to garden to see Ari Roar, really enjoyed them, had a chat with them afterwards, nice people. Marlon Williams, what a start! Finish was also very impressive, handled the fall very gracefully :) Sorry that Insecure Men cancelled, had been looking forward to them, back to tent for restorative tea then back to garden for Snail Mail, not really doing it for me so off to Far Out for Whyte Horses, ok. Back to garden for a bit of Suzanne Sundfor, lovely voice but...Feeling a tad despondent having seen nothing that really grabbed me since Lovely Eggs, despondency dispelled by Black Midi, cracking set, best of the day. Met my wife to watch KGATLW,not really my thing, 45mns enough for me. Stayed out in an attempt to stay awake for HMLTD, ok but without the sense of chaos or it all going terribly wrong that their last visit had, too polished.

Saturday - Sweet Baboo, lovely as always. Seamus Fogerty, really excellent, enjoyed the songs, banter and dancing, good to see Johnny Pictish dancing in the crowd, failed to get a hug this year. Islet in Cinema tent, I love Islet, always exciting and unpredictable. Baxter Dury, lasted 10 mns. Goat Girl in the garden, good fun, obviously all enjoying themselves, not sure I'd go to see them again but enjoyed it. Back to tent for a while, listened to John Grant there, sounded great. Over to garden to catch a bit of Hawk and a Hacksaw, interesting but better afternoon perhaps. Then off to Rising to see Phobophobes, not bad but without the excitement of Black Midi. Had intended to see Snapped Ankles but tiredness got the better of me. Back to tent to listen to Fleet Foxes and sip some whisky whlie dozing off.

Sunday - Caught the end of Cosmic Array in garden, not bad but there to see the next act, Stella Donnelly, simply stunning, beautiful voice, songs with passion and wiit, great chat and charming, set of the weekend and very nice to have a brief chat with ray_rad. Over to main to see Xylouris White, fantastic, extraordinary drummimg and virtuoso Lute playing, although I didn't have a clue what he was singing about his voice is beautiful. Caught half of Follakzoid, most odd, singer didn't appear to do much apart from miming hanging himself with his guitar, good sounds though. Half of Jane Weaver, very nice the back to main for Kevin Morby, really enjoyed his set. Back to tent for a while, listened to Anna Calvi there, not my thing but finished with Ghost Riders by Suicide. Sat on the bank to watch half of Grizzly Bear then off to Far Out for Black Angels, great set, really enjoyed them, back to bank to meet wife and friends to watch a bit of War on Drugs, it's just one song played at a different tempo isn't it? Off to get pizza and back to tent to eat with our last bottle of wine while watching the fireworks, lovely.

Another fine weekend, despite lowish expectations I think Sunday was one of my favourite ever days at GM

The chair/trolley/blanket issue seems to have shifted elsewhere now, good that people seem to have heeded the calls to not use in the tent or in front of main it just seems to have made the problem worse elsewhere as others have said.

Seemed to be very little queuing at the bars at any time of day. Great food at the Brownie stall, Bearded Taco, superb espresso at the coffee stalls. Monday morning breakfast at Cwmdu Comminty stall was very welcome before packing up.

Roll on next year

This would seem a good place to put this... each year me and my mates try to sum up each band with a 5 word/5 point score. Here's mine for this year

I'd like to add that A) as it's normally for a closed audience some of the harshness is borne of humour rather than genuine dislike (nothing was genuinely bad in the slightest) and B) my scores and feelings are heavily influenced by whatever I was heavily under the influence of at the time. Also I lost my phone at one point and went through various periods of h-anger which might have unfairly affected some otherwise decent bands

Special non-band mentions go to:

- the numerous and delicious and easy to acquire beers
- the CND lock-up/lost property chaps who efficiently and politely dealt with my multiple visits to see if my phone had been returned
- whichever godly hero of the ages returned my phone to them after finding it god knows where. Sir/madam if you identify yourself I'll buy all your drinks next year
- all the late-night/DJ/Chai Wallah/Around the Twist stuff that isn't really worth rating in the way below but was pretty much all well-chosen and enjoyable

Thurs
Bas Jan - love them, venue sadly overwhelms 2.5/5
Public Service Broadcasting - stirring, danceable, shamelessly stolen nostalgia 4/5

Fri
HMS Morris - engaging crafty pop. Mad falsettos 4/5
Wye Oak - I dub them Wye O.K 2.5/5
The Lemon Twigs - smartypants Queen wannabes guiltily enjoyable 4/5
Susanne Sundfor - WHERE WERE THE BANGERS SUSAN :( 1/5
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - blistering post-apocalyptic psychedelic riffage 4/5
Mount Kimbie - laser noises doesn't equal exciting 2/5

Sat
Jim Ghedi - Blissful, ancient tones sooth hangovers 4/5
Seamus Fogarty - likeable set features Bourbon ode  4/5
Boy Azooga - overhyped indie-lads. Seem nice 3/5
Bo Ningen - facemeltingly good. Absolutely killed it 5/5
Teleman - highly recommended infectious motorik pop 4.5/5
Teenage Fanclub - cult band apparently but why? 2.5/5
A Hawk and a Hacksaw - abrasive fiddling was not welcome 2/5
Fleet Foxes - made for the mountainous backdrop 3.5/5
Simian Mobile Disco w/ Deep Throat Choir - choral acrobatics marry fat beats - 3.5/5

Sun
Stella Donnelly - velvety music for iron-y wit 4.5/5
Curtis Harding - competent meat and potatoes RnB 3/5
Jane Weaver - set your synth to 'ethereal' 4/5
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Thin Lizzy guitaring briefly entertaining 2/5
Anna Calvi - strutting brooding badass guitar heroics 4.5/5
Grizzly Bear - alright. One really good song 3.5/5
The Black Angels - annihilatingly brilliant and ballsy psychedelia 4.5/5
Brian Jonestown Massacre - sounded good, didn't pay attention 3/5
The Conservatoire Folk Ensemble - Riverdance = beyond my physical limits 4/5

Absolutely brilliant! Hearing Head/on Pill from KG&LW and Everything Flows by Teenage Fanclub were my musical highlights. 

Non musical highlights we're definitely the brownie stand, the dosa stand and when my friend bought me the Snail Mail CD for my birthday (which was over the weekend) and managed to get it signed by Lyndsey in the Rough Trade tent.

Only negative was that I was so bereft of energy by the Sunday afternoon that I didn't make it to The Wedding Present or The Black Angels. 

Another first timer here.  I thought it was simply wonderful (and that's quite something considering only a week before the festival I was thinking of putting my ticket on Twickets as I was unsure about spending the whole festival on my own).

Things I liked about Green Man - it was so friendly (probably the friendliest festival I've been to), both the site and the toilets were amazingly clean, I loved the whole atmosphere/vibe/ethos, and it felt such a safe place to be.  I also loved how easy it was to get to the front of the crowd, and even on the barrier, for some of my favourite bands.  Oh, and the weather, of course - just perfect.

Musically, my two favourites were the Lemon Twigs and the Wedding Present.  I also enjoyed Teenage Fanclub, Teleman and John Grant (although the big disappointment of the weekend was that most of his set clashed with Teenage Fanclub).  I was impressed by Whyte Horses, Will Varley, Marlon Williams and Seazoo, although I only caught part of their sets.  I missed Boy Azooga but they sounded great as I was rushing past.  I spent a fair bit of time in the Talking Shop, getting a lump in my throat during the Owen Sheers talk.  Really enjoyed the interviews with Viv Albertine and John Grant too.

The only bad things I can think of are that I somehow never got round to having a chocolate brownie or dosa, and that the queue for the John Grant signing was so long I decided not to join it.  (Probably a bonus for JG, though, as he'd have had an over-emotional woman telling him how much his music meant to her and asking for a hug!)  Oh, and I started to flag a bit in the evenings and was just too tired to enjoy some performers I'd been looking forward to, such as Susanne Sundfor.

I've never got an early bird ticket for any festival before, as festivals have always been largely about the line-up for me.  But I'm seriously considering getting one for Green Man as there's something so special about the festival itself.  Almost a week later and the glow's only just starting to wear off ... thank you, Green Man.

Green Man is an extraordinary place.

Our 9th this year and although it didn't really deliver musically for me, the GM worked it's magic. 

It has become an incredibly emotional and important part of our family's life.

I've watched my youngest two grow from tiny children into amazing young adults over the years at Glanusk, developing their own GM friendship group and forming musical tastes.

Some of the people I've met have become really good mates and my musical tastes have been enriched by the bands I've seen and by recommendations on here.

Our annual week at the Settlement and festival is the highlight of our year.

Long may it remain thus, hopefully without growing any bigger, it was a bit overcrowded I thought this year.

Said my fried Neal when I met up for a drink with him early Thursday evening in the live-in field.

I have been coming with my wife and/or friends since 2010 and it has become the highlight of my year. That feeling of wellbeing, excitement and happiness sitting outside the van on Thursday with the first drink is impossible to replicate

I saw more music this year than 'usual' and really enjoyed the majority of what I experienced. the dry wetaher helped spend longer mooching about and lying around. 

One thing that struck me clearly was the nunber of unnattachd older people. Was I alone in feeling a higher % than usual of 50 sometihng - and above - couples and groups? Was there anyting in the lineup that attracted an older demographic? I'm 52 myself, so am not complaining, but weirdly felt  and, to the annoyance of my mates kept pointing out, lots of old people like us...

Unusually my misanthropic nature was kept well under wraps too. I'm usually grumbling and upset by 'people' by Friday. Blame it on the good weather this year but I found very little to get agitated and angry about. No fucking contrapitions to fall over in the far out tent helped. Although the group of girls jabbering away next to me during the BJM set needed to stfu...

Anyhow, here's to next year. I've posted on here for the last 6 or 7 years I think - in different guises (lost passwords, changed usernames, that sort of thing). Maybe one year I'll muster the courage to say hello at the meet up.....

blimey I must be feeling all weak and misty eyed

I suspect there’s a very different demographic at Reading this weekend. They’re welcome to it. One of the things I love about Green Man is that it draws such a wide ranging audience of all ages, from infants (plenty of those) to octogenarians, but judging by those on here I think it’s fair to say the core audience tends to be middle-aged but discerning music lovers. The kind of line-up they have probably ensures that. It’s always going to attract a more niche audience. 

Our fourth GM, but we haven't been since 2012 and we were so pleased to find the whole experience relatively unchanged, despite the lack of mud. We were with a 2-year-old so things were a bit different to the "good old days" but it was finally an excuse to visit the awesome Little Folk area! Luckily none of the headliners were of any interest to us, so we didn't mind some early nights back at the tent.

Everything from the logistics of getting dropped off at the park & ride, the family camping, food, stewards, toilets, Einstein's Garden and the music was perfect.

Snap, bought the CD straight after her performance.

and despite everything she says, 'thrush metal' is a genius title