Green Man 2026 kicks off with Charlotte Church’s Pop Dungeon, Mogwai, Madra Salach and more

Amelia Jones

Green Man’s 2026 festival opened its gates yesterday, welcoming a sold out crowd of 25,000 to the heart of Bannau Brycheiniog national park for a packed weekend of live music, science, comedy, cinema, performing arts, comedy and much more.

Eager Green Man-goers pitched their tents before enjoying a stellar lineup of music across the Far Out, Walled Garden, Round The Twist and Chai Wallahs stages. Amongst the day’s highlights, the Walled Garden hosted an all-Welsh lineup boasting some of Wales’ brightest prospects. From the opening performance of former Welsh Music Prize winning Dafydd Owain and Wrexham-raised Art School Girlfriend, who delivered an entrancing blend of electronica and shoegaze; to South Wales seven-piece MWSOG; Abertystwyth’s Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn and the eclectic sounds of six-piece music collective CVC.

Elsewhere, the Sessions stage at Round The Twist showcased Green Man’s dedication to platforming future talent. Tall Child, the 2026 winner of the Green Man Rising competition stopped in for an intimate performance, a warm-up for their monumental opening slot at the Mountain Stage this afternoon (Friday). They were joined by 2026 Rising runners up, Kiosk, Glasshouse Red Spider Mite, Cyn Cwsg and The Slow Country, all of whom will perform on the Rising stage across the weekend.

Over on the Far Out stage, Irish experimental-folk outfit Madra Salach set the tone for the evening with music from their acclaimed debut EP It’s a Hell of an Age; Chicago band Friko offered collective catharsis as they offered up music from their latest album Something Worth Waiting For; and Brighton rockers Lime Garden ramped up the energy with the newly released ‘Maybe Not Tonight’, amongst favourites like ‘Clockwork’ and a cover of The Cardigans’ ‘My Favourite Game’.

Topping the bill for this year’s opening night lineup, Scottish post-rockers Mogwai greeted crowds with a heady, ear-bleeding celebration of their 30 year discography beneath the canopy of the Far Out stage. The band mixed tracks from last year’s The Bad Fire with favourites from across their feted catalogue, including ‘How To Be A Werewolf’, ‘I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead’ and a riotous closing ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’.

The night continued into the early hours with the hotly anticipated return of Charlotte Church’s Pop Dungeon, transforming the Far Out stage into a packed out party as she wowed Green Man-goers with a surprise setlist loaded with covers of Rosalia’s ‘Berghain’, Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ and songs from Radiohead. A firm favourite of Green Man, Charlotte’s return to the Black Mountains marked her first Pop Dungeon performance of 2026.

Now suitably warmed up, Green Man continues today with the return of US rock outfit Wilco, topping the Mountain Stage for the first time since their lauded 2009 visit to the festival. Further moments not to be missed include Aldous Harding, Shame, Dry Cleaning, Smerz, Baxter Dury, Westside Cowboy and more.

Beyond the music, the Last Laugh stage will host some of UK comedy’s most beloved names, including Joe Lycett, Stewart Lee and Bridget Christie; while The Talking Shop will explore 50 Years of Rough Trade with Jude Rogers, and Huw Stephens will sit down with Sophia Smith Galer to discuss her book, “How To Kill A Language”.

At Einstein’s Garden, Green Man’s unique science programming offers a playground for the curious mind; exploring the future as a story that can be written together. A series of talks, workshops and performances will navigate everything from AI and the afterlife to the neuroscience of memory, the right to clean rivers and rewilding our food systems; exploring the messy, hopeful and urgent questions of our time.

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