Locals in our part of the Usk Valley can often be heard saying that they’ve never heard of any of the bands at the Green Man Festival, which is once again being held from August 14-17 at the Glanusk Estate near Crickhowell, writes Nancy Cavill.

Actually - whisper it - some regular attendees can sometimes be heard saying it too.

This year, one of the many, many bands in attendance has made enough headlines to cross most people’s radar - Thursday night’s headliners, the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap. It seems likely that recent press coverage will guarantee a large, curious audience who may, or may not, like the music.

But it’s never the case that one band makes a festival - the whole point is the plethora of music on offer and the almost overwhelming choice. So much so that dedicated music fans often make use of the ‘Clashfinder’ website which shows which bands overlap and dictates whether you give up your cosy pitch on a terrace overlooking the Mountain Stage to hike up to the Far Out tent which borders what is known locally as ‘the back lane’ to Llangynidr.

This year’s headliners (apart from Kneecap) are Wet Leg (they of the ‘Chaise Longue’ song), Underworld (personally I’m looking forward to ‘Born Slippy’, their 90s club anthem which will be well known to many from the film Trainspotting) and TV on the Radio (queue appearance by New York indie art rockers in the Welsh mountains).

Everyone will have their own take on other must-sees, but for me this includes CMAT, MJ Lenderman and The Wind, English Teacher (now big enough to fill the Far Out tent having graduated from the ‘Rising’ stage in 2022), Kokoroko, Beth Gibbons (of Portishead fame) and Cymande. The latter are billed as the ‘greatest band you’ve never heard of’ and that’s true for me in this case. These Brixton funk pioneers have been going for 50 years and are said to have influenced everyone from Grandmaster Flash to Fatboy Slim.

As a Green Man veteran, every year I promise myself I will explore more than just the big main stages, the Mountain and the Far Out. There’s the Chai Wallahs tent, for example, with music ranging from afrobeat to rap, disco to acoustic folk. In the Walled Garden I am aiming for a slice of Folk Bitch Trio (from Australia) and Shale (from Cardiff). The latter say they’re The Cure and The Smiths fans so they should be right up my street.

I always intend to check out the wide variety of guest talks and the ‘Last Laugh’ comedy tent - award-winning Welsh comedian Kiri Pritchard-Mclean would be my pick if I can get into what’s sure to be a packed-out tent. But will I get there or will I be sidetracked by some new music I’d never heard of? And that’s the beauty of the festival experience for those who worry they don’t know the names on the bill. It doesn’t matter, the secret is that you’ll enjoy it whatever happens.