Green Man Festival has been a long-running supporter of Welsh musical talent, and 2025 was no exception. Prepare yourself for the 2026 ticket purchase by running through this lovely list of the Welsh acts that played Green Man 2025.
Adjua
Born and bred in the Cardiff neighbourhood of Splott, Adjua’s Ghanaian heritage influences her soulful, R&B songwriting. So far, she’s released a series of single and EPs, while also finding time to perform at this year’s Glastonbury festival.
Adwaith
The Carmarthen three-piece are Green Man regulars, first playing the festival’s Rising stage back in 2018. In 2025, they showcased tracks from their new double album ‘Solas’, which could become their third Welsh Music Prize-winning record at this year’s awards.
Chwaer Fawr
Otherwise known as Mari Morgan, Chwaer Fawr released her debut album ‘Diwedd’ in 2025. The record features a large cast of Welsh musicians who have worked with artists including Cate Le Bon, H Hawkline, Aldous Harding and Gwenno.
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Clwb Chess
Hailing from Aberystwyth, this four-piece band deal in pounding, Krautrock-inspired motorik rhythms punctuated with explosions of rubbery post-punk. Check out their mini-album ‘In Da Clwb’ for a taste.
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Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog
Made up of brothers Iwan, Aled and Dafydd Hughes, Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog put a uniquely North Wales spin on country, folk and Americana. Their most recent album ‘Mynd â'r Tŷ am Dro’ was nominated for the 2024 Welsh Music Prize.
Cyn Cwsg
The four-piece band from North Wales combine dreamy 60s vocal harmonies with flights of psychedelia and a hefty dose of power pop. They’ve played a live BBC6Music Session for the legendary Marc Riley and recently released their new EP ‘Pydru yn yr Haul’ (produced by Tom Rees of Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard).
Don Leisure
Cardiff crate-digger extraordinaire Don Leisure draws his beatmaking inspiration from some unusual sources. His album ‘Shaboo Strikes Back’ was a genre-hopping tribute to his late uncle (a Bollywood actor). His latest, ‘Tyrchu Sain’ was built from samples taken from the back catalogue of Sain Records, Wales’ oldest independent label.
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Elin a Carys
These sisters from Montgomeryshire grew up immersed in music (their father John Gittins was a member of celebrated Welsh folk trio Plethyn). They bring their multi-instrumental skills and close harmonies to Celtic-influenced songs that build on decades of traditional and modern folk music.
Enabling Behaviour
This Cardiff (by way of Cornwall) quartet’s songs draw on the ragged textures of noise, angular post-punk and 60s psychedelic folk. Debut album ‘GILT!’ made waves, while new EP ‘Electric Pop Songs’ promises to further widen their already expansive sonic palette.
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Georgia Ruth
Winner of the Welsh Music Prize for her debut album ‘Week of Pines’ in 2013, Georgia Ruth has performed at Green Man many times over the years. The harpist and singer-songwriter has worked with the Manic Street Preachers and been remixed by Gwenno, while her 2024 album ‘Cool Head’ also snagged a Welsh Music Prize nomination.
Gruff Rhys
As frontman of Super Furry Animals and a prolific solo artist, Gruff Rhys needs no introduction. His freewheeling muse has led to albums about US carmakers and Welsh explorers – as well as collaborations with artists like Mogwai, Dangermouse and Gorillaz. He’s also a unique live performer with a characteristically idiosyncratic stage style – no wonder his secret set at Green Man 2025 was such a hit.
Gwenno
The undisputed champion of ice-cool Welsh/Cornish dreamscapes, Gwenno’s latest album ‘Utopia’ sees her take the unorthodox approach of singing largely in English. Detailing the many phases of her life, from working as a dancer in Las Vegas through her pop phase with The Pipettes and on to motherhood and a solo career, it’s an expansive listen that combines Gwenno’s off-kilter songwriting with lush old-school arrangements.
High Contrast
Otherwise known as Penarth native Lincoln Barrett, High Contrast has been a big noise on the electronic music scene for the past few decades. His work includes timeless drum’n’bass bangers like ‘Racing Green’, remixes for the likes of Adele, London Grammar and Jorja Smith, and roof-raising DJ sets at clubs and festivals all over the world. Latest album ‘Restoration’ is a return to his DnB roots, packed with rattling rhythms and lovingly unearthed samples.
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Irfan Rais
Originally from Singapore, but now based in Wales, Irfan Rais is multi-instrumentalist and voracious collector of folk songs from all over the world. His sets are globe-trotting journeys through traditional music, featuring plenty of Welsh-language songs alongside tunes from Asia and Europe.
John Grant
OK, we’re cheating a little with this one, but John Grant’s connections with Wales and Green Man are so strong we feel justified in claiming him as one of our own. He’s played the festival on multiple occasions and always has lots of lovely things to say about Wales during hist sets. He also filmed the video for his song ‘Chicken Bones’ in Cardiff, featuring iconic locations like Splott Market, Clwb Ifor Bach and Caroline Street (aka Chippy Lane).
Kelly Lee Owens
From humble beginnings in a quiet village near Rhuddlan in North Wales, Kelly Lee Owens has risen to become one of the most celebrated names in electronic music. Her 2021 album ‘Inner Song’ won the Welsh Music Prize and featured a collaboration with John Cale on the track ‘Corner of My Sky’ – with a video starring another Welsh legend, Michael Sheen. She’s worked with names as varied as St Vincent, Bicep and Bjork and supported Depeche Mode on tour, while latest album ‘Dreamstate’ has also been nominated for the Welsh Music Prize.
Lleucu Non
The multitalented Lleucu Non grew up in rural North Wakes before relocating to Cardiff. Alongside her work as a singer-songwriter crafting breezy, affecting alt-pop music, she works as an animator and visual artists. As well as writing and performing her own tracks, she creates the videos and artwork that accompany them.
Los Campesinos!
Cardiff indie heroes Los Campesinos! Have been keeping it DIY since the mid 2000s, releasing seven albums of sad bangers completely on their own terms. Latest record ‘All Hell’ was self-recorded and produced – securing them their highest ever chart position on a reported marketing spend of less than £200. The band is proof that you can enjoy a long and creative life without compromise – even if the first song on their first album was called ‘Death to Los Campesinos!’.
Louis O’Hara
This singer/songwriter/composer from Pembroke Dock in West Wales started out writing music for zero-budget independent films. He’s since progressed to cinematic folk, which pairs traditional sounds with experimental approaches and draws inspiration from artists like Jonathan Richman, Cate Le Bon and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Louis has recently signed to Libertino Records (home of Adwaith and Keys), so look out for new music arriving soon.
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Mared
Mared’s career has taken her from the North Wales village of Llanefydd to the West End stage and on to a Welsh-language album award for her record ‘Y Drefn’. With her seven-piece band, she plays folk-inflected indie pop that has drawn comparisons with the 60s Laurel Canyon scene made famous by artists like Joni Mitchell, Carole King and James Taylor.
Martha Elen
Delivering pedal steel-soaked Americana from the shores of the Menai Strait, Martha Elen’s music is inspired by the North Wales landscapes in which she grew up. She released her first single ‘Canu Cloch’ in April 2025 and followed it up with a second ‘Eilio’ in September. Alongside Green Man, she’s had a busy summer of shows at venues including Clwb Ifor Bach, Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau and the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham.
Martha O’Brien
Marth released her first EP ‘Caution, Horses!’ in October 2004. Its four tracks of delicate, finger-picked folk music cover a range of subjects – including love, loss, house parties and rats getting married. Alongside Green Man, she’s also recently appeared at Focus Wales in Wrexham and at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff (supporting Juanita Stein of Howling Bells).
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Melin Melyn
Mining (or should that be milling?) a rich vein of psychedelia-soaked, country-inflected power pop, Melin Melyn bring a playful theatricality to everything they do. Their debut LP ‘The Mill on the Hill’ is a concept album about the (imaginary) mill where they write their songs and efforts to protect it from a greedy developer who wants to turn it into a car park. None of this would matter if the music didn’t live up to backstory, but the album’s been nominated for the Welsh Music Prize and their live shows (including a triumphant set at Green Man) are an absolute blast.
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Midding
Growing from four-track experiments by singer/guitarist Joe Woodward to five-piece band, Midding pursue the goal of creating a Spector-esque wall of sound on a DIY budget. In practice, and on the band’s debut EP ‘Nowhere Near Today’, they’ve come up with a compellingly expansive variety of feedback-drenched guitar pop with shimmering, shoegaze influences. If that piques your curiosity, you can catch them at the 2025 edition of Swn Festival in Cardiff.
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MORN
Though the band is made up of two sets of siblings, they claim it was attending Green Man that united them and bonded them as a unit. Debut single ‘Modern Man’ was released on the Speedy Wunderground label and produced by knob-twiddler to the stars Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Black Midi, Fontaines DC). It’s a spiky blast of serrated guitars and volatile energy that suggests they have a long and exciting career ahead of them. Thanks to Green Man for bringing them together.
Muriel
Starting life as a solo recording project of Cardiff based singer/guitarist/tattoo artist Zak Thomas, the addition of various musicians eventually became a full-scale band called Muriel. Their self-titled debut album quickly sold-out its physical run on the back of some stellar live shows. Anchored by Zak’s intricately layered guitar arrangements, its widescreen songs have come a long way from their simple, bedroom-recorded origins.
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Nancy Williams
Hailing from Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, Nancy Williams caused a stir with her first release ‘I Don’t Wanna Grow Up’. The track went viral, leading to radio play on the BBC and thousands of streams on Spotify. It also led to a slot Glastonbury’s Croissant Neuf, a stepping stone for developing artists stage where performers like Ed Sheeran made their festival debuts.
Peiriant
Residents of Green Man’s own Bannau Brycheiniog, Peiriant are duo Rose and Dan Linn-Pearl. Through Rose’s violin and Dan’s sound manipulations on guitar and synthesiser, they conjure up a contemporary take on folk that’s both pastoral and forward-looking. Latest album ‘Dychwelyd’ evokes the landscapes of their home – sometimes jagged and abrasive, sometimes lush and organic.
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Plastic Estate
Cardiff duo Plastic Estate deal in sleek, hard-edged synth pop that draws inspiration from the giants of genre like Depeche Mode – plus contemporary chillwave artists like Neon Indian, Toro y Moi and Com Truise. Their latest album ‘Code d’Amour’ was released by cult Italian label Avant! Records, receiving support from the BBC, KEXP and even Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon.
Pys Melyn
Dealing in woozy, unmistakably Welsh 60s-influenced psychedelia, Pen Llŷn’s Pys Melyn released their third album ‘Fel Efeilliad’ in 2024. A busy period followed, with a session for Riley and Coe on BBC6Music and support slots for acts including Gruff Rhys and Spiritualized – alongside shows at End of The Road and (of course) Green Man.
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Shale
Fresh-faced Cardiff indie-rockers released their first single ‘Green Light Red Light’ at the tender age of 17. They followed that up with a self-titled four-track EP in 2025 which picked up airplay on BBC6Music, before making it to the final of the Green Man Rising competition. Not bad for a band that’s only about a year old.
Sywel Nyw
Otherwise known as Lewys Wyn, DJ/composer/producer Sywel Nyw is a restlessly creative name on the electronic music scene. His first album ‘Deuddeg’ was an ambitious project, featuring 12 collaborations with a range of artists – released monthly oiver the course of a year. The record won the 2022 Welsh Language Album of the Year Award and has been followed up by yet more collaborative tracks with Welsh artists like Malan and Mared.
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Taff Rapids
You might not think of bluegrass as a particularly Welsh concern, but this dynamic musical outfit are here to change that. With debut album 'Blŵgras' under their belt, look out for Taff Rapids bringing blŵgras to a dancefloor near you!
Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn
Lo-fi noise folk from the heart of Mid Wales, shrouded in tape hiss and subterranean bass rumbles, Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn occupy their own specific niche on the Welsh language music scene. Despite being recorded in a selection of DIY home studios and initially released on an ultra-limited cassette-only run, debut album ‘Ein Albwm Cyntaf Ni’ turned enough heads to score shortlisting for the 2025 Welsh Music Prize.
Tesni
Manchester-based and Welsh-born, singer-songwriter Eve Hancock’s stage name translates loosely translates as ‘warmth’. It’s an appropriate choice for a performer who channels so much heart and tenderness into her songwriting. Drawing on influences old and new, from Nick Drake to Adrianne Lenker, Tesni’s delicate fingerpicked guitars intertwine with a voice that can soar or whisper.
Tristwch y Fenywod
If you only listen to one ‘Celtic darkwave’ band this year, make it Tristwch y Fenywod. Their name translates as ‘the sadness of women’ and their music is a haunting, pitch-black take on folk, driven by chiming zithers, rumbling bass and electronic percussion. There are hints of goth greats like early Cocteau Twins and The Cure, but Tristwch y Fenywod’s sound is all their own. Embrace the darkness.
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Underworld
You might not associate psychedelic rave legends Underworld with Wales, but – as shamanic frontman Karl Hyde reminded the Green Man crowd at their 2025 headline performance – the band were born here. It was at Cardiff College of Art that Hyde bandmate Rick Smith met and embarked on a music career that would take them to the top of the techno tree. Over 11 albums, they’ve created foundation shaking bangers and hypnotic grooves, as well one of the defining tracks of the 90s with the epic ‘Born Slippy’ – an iconic cut from the omnipresent soundtrack to hit film ‘Trainspotting’.
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