Dean Hodge reviews some of the acts from this year’s Green Man Festival held on 17 – 20 August 2017. (Photography by Nick Evans)
Even as Green Man Festival enters its fifteenth year, the ethos of promoting the best of new music alongside established icons has not waned. Nor has the encompassing love-one-another vibe that is infectious as soon as you arrive. Certainly, the latter is needed more than ever at such a turbulent time, and the festival returns one more to provide a green oasis of escapism. Still, the awareness of events happening elsewhere in the world filters through and becomes a running theme in many of the artists’ mantras to the audience.
US rockers Hurray For The Riff Raff make the odd reference to the growing political unrest in their homeland and elsewhere throughout their set on the Mountain Stage on Friday. The performance itself is a breathless ride of soaring northern-bound classic rock with a southern-fried punk energy simmering beneath that burns with an inner yearning for a more peaceful world. Inward-looking lyrics with a social conscience are delivered with boldness and bite by frontwoman Alynda Segarra – the musical love child of Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen both in her lyrical delivery and her smouldering stage presence. A fitting tribute to The Boss himself is thrown in for good measure with a hedonistic cover of Dancing In The Dark closing the set.
Another high-octane cover of an 80’s classic is provided by London indie quartet The Big Moon – their delirious take on Bonnie Tyler‘s Total Eclipse of the Heart just one highlight of what is a typically vivacious set by the four-piece. Their delirium-inducing, body-elevating blend of murky guitar riffs and sultry melodies is suited for the confines of the Far Out Stage. A backing band of dancers in fancy dress join the band on-stage for closing number Sucker to provide a fittingly fervent finale. An accidental on-stage fall by guitarist Soph Nathan during an over-zealous guitar solo only adds to the chaotic charm of their set. Continue reading