News Preview: Green Man 2013

Now in its 11th year, Green Man has continued to grow steadily since its inception, probably thanks to an eco-friendly ethos and a spectacular setting in Wales’ beautiful Black Mountains. Offering up an eclectic mix of music, comedy, poetry, literature and theatre, not to mention its own beer and cider fair, it’s a festival with a touch of class and a bit of a difference. The band line-up this year is pretty special as well, spoiling punters with an assorted blend of long-established acts like Band Of Horses, Kings Of Convenience and Edwyn Collins, and fresh new hopefuls such as MONEY, Outfit and Blaenavon. We’ve sifted through the lineup to pick out a few choice acts that should not be missed, and from the looks of it, the Far Out Stage is the place to be:

MONEY

(Far Out Stage, Thursday)

Manchester’s madcap poets bring their unpredictably enthralling live show to Green Man this year. With debut album ‘The Shadow Of Heaven’ dropping the week after this performance, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of crowd they pull in, and indeed, what sort of antics eccentric frontman Jamie Lee will get up to with an entire festival crowd at his mercy.

Parquet Courts

(Far Out Stage, Friday)

Following the slow-burning success of their fantastic ‘Light Up Gold’ album this spring, New York’s favourite intellectual monotones bring their brand of mid-tempo minimal rock to the altogether different surroundings of the Welsh countryside. Apart from being a consistently brilliant live act, this slot will surely be a golden opportunity to catch them testing out new material before the masses latch onto it.

Outfit

(Far Out Stage, Saturday)

Liverpool’s Outfit seem to have been somewhat over-looked and under-appreciated so far this year, which is a complete travesty. Perhaps their brilliantly angular, melancholy disco needs to be blasted from atop a mountain for all below to hear? Well, this is probably the closest they’ll come to such an opportunity. With long-awaited debut long-player ‘Performance’ set for release the week before, catch them in the flesh here, before everyone claims Outfit as their new favourite band.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

(Far Out Stage, Sunday)

UMO’s excellent sophomore effort ‘II’ has proved to be one of the finest albums of 2013, and its homespun lo-fi charm is perfectly suited to the live stage. Having now built up a devoted and ever-expanding following, the likes of ‘Ffunny FFrends’, ‘Swim And Sleep’ and ‘From The Sun’ are sure to reach near-anthemic levels.