Go behind the scenes at this year’s Green Man!

WHEN you’re wandering around a festival, beer in hand, soaking up the sun and listening to some tunes, it’s tempting to fall into the trap that all that magic happens by itself.

It doesn’t!

The logistics, graft, and sheer organisation that go into putting on a four-day event for thousands of people can be quite overwhelming.

Particularly if you’re an independent festival without the resources and finances that corporate sponsorship provides.

As the Chronicle found out when it went behind the scenes at the Green Man earlier this week, there’s a lot of hard work that goes into making the magic happen and keeping the spirit of independence burning bright.

You might call it a labour of love!

As Green Man managing director and owner Fiona Stewart points out from behind the wheel of the safari buggy she used to drive the Chronicle around on a tour of the site, “The Green Man is special. It has an identity all of its own, and that’s a very Welsh identity. It also has a meaning and place in people’s hearts that go far beyond monetary value, and that’s why I believe it’s important to protect it from being swallowed whole by an increasingly corporate music industry.”

Fiona has been running Wales’ best-known music festival for a long time. Yet it’s evident in the enthusiastic way she points out key places on the site and tells the Chronicle the story behind each, that she’s lost none of the passion for the Green Man.

She’s also fiercely protective of it and is adamant about protecting it from outside influences that might not have its best interests at heart.

She explained that many festivals have become very corporate, and that’s not a road the Green Man would ever go down.

For example, the Green Man has kept its pouring rights because they believe in supporting regional breweries and offering the punters independent Welsh drink choices as opposed to a massive beverage conglomerate dictating control over bar selections.

It’s safe to say that an organisation like Live Nation Entertainment could wreak a lot of damage to a festival like Green Man, whose small size, ramshackle charm, eclectic acts, and unique setting would all be measured unfavourably against the bottom line of boardroom meetings and financial forecasts.

Yet rest assured, it won’t happen on Fiona’s watch.

It’s financially risky, and she’s lost more money than she’s made at least four times over, but at what price integrity?

The festival has long brought a lot of people, money, interest and prestige to the area. Yet it still has its naysayers.

Fiona told the Chronicle that she understands people can be wary of the crowds, and traffic and noise that a festival brings, but wants to reassure the community that it’s their festival as much as anyone else’s.

“As festivals go, we’re not really rock n’ roll and have very few incidents. Everyone who attends is extremely well-behaved and very interested in exploring the local area and visiting the local pubs, restaurants and shops. Particularly the settlers who come for the whole week. It’s something we’ve always encouraged, because we love the area and feel very connected to it.

This is best exemplified by the Green Man Trust, which works in partnership with the festival to tackle poverty and social inequalities created by Wales’ growing wealth and age gap.

Above all, the whole team at Green Man is committed to bringing people from all walks of life together to have some fun.

“I think social isolation is a huge problem.” Said Fiona. “And in an age where pubs have sadly taken a hammering, and there are far fewer communal spaces for people to gather, a festival can be a great way to turn off their screens and come together in the great outdoors.”