Bathing Suits
Drawing a massive crowd to the Rising Stage (even up against headliners on the bigger stages), Bathing Suits shattered our perception of reality on Saturday. Caveating this explanation with the fact that it will undoubtedly do them a disservice - it was like watching a MUCH sexier Gilla Band with a penchant for performance art. Throw in the uncomfortability of Throbbing Gristle and a massive dose of industrial techno and you're on your way to understanding what this band are about. Unable to decipher if their intention was to entertain or to punish their audience, all we know at that we're one hundred percent here for it.

My New Band Believe

With expectations understandably high, black midi co-founder Cameron Picton delivered perfection on the Walled Garden Stage with My New Band Believe. Capably supported some of the best avant-garde musicians around, precision and raw emotion fell hand in hand under a light rain shower as they tore through recent album offerings 'One Night', 'Love Story' and their striking debut single 'Lecture 25' (among many others). Whilst the set up of guitars, bass, drums and keys feels simple on the face of things, the outcome is anything but. Genre-hopping whilst retaining a palpable sense of earnest, the possibilities feel endless for Piction and his phenomenal ever-evolving outfit.

Curbside Lambsear

Newly-formed duo Curbside Lambsear are no strangers to Green Man, having performed previously as members of caroline and The Umlauts. Captivating a relatively small, but dedicated, audience at our new favourite stage (Round The Twist), the pair showcased their sprawling compositions with an irresistible air of cool. Taking turns on lead vocals, with relatively minimal live instrumentation; violin, sampler and keys (from what we could make out), innovation and curiosity appear at the forefront of their sound. Ending with what can only be described as controlled violin feedback (which is a new one on us), the experimentally-inclined twosome are certainly ones to watch.

Thredd

Inspiring a new adjective, London-based super-trio Thredd were "inthreddable" on Friday night. Raising the bar and making it look easy, Imogen and the Knife, Max Winter and Will Lister are really onto something with their laid-back experimental pop. Like a way cooler version of The xx with a rocket shoved up their collective backside (sorry The xx), Thredd are tapped into the zeitgeist and are simply too talented for their own good. With flawless vocals, instrumentation and a backing track that could blow the speakers on the Mountain Stage, we're giving this set 10/10 - no notes.

Jessica Winter

Portsmouth's pop princess (though queen feels far more fitting), Jessica Winter gave two unforgettable performances over the weekend. The first at the new, improved and wonderfully homosexual Wishbone stage and the second at our favoured Round The Twist on Saturday night. Camp, joyful and utterly exceptional in her delivery, the vocalist, songwriter and producer knows how to put on a show. Boasting powerful sing alongs choreographed dance routines and even a pair of stripper trousers, Jessica Winter is the ultimate alt-pop icon and long may her reign continue.

Woom

The perfect booking for a sunny Saturday morning, South London trio Woom healed our collective hangovers with their unrivalled harmonies. Blessing the seated audience with an exceptional cover of Björk's 'Venus as a Boy' and their spellbinding reinterpretation of Frank Ocean's 'Seigfried / Self Control / White Ferrari', amongst multiple original works - there's nothing quite as strikingly beautiful as a perfectly pulled-off three part harmony. Cradled by a lone, reverb-doused electric guitar, Woom's performance was a necessary dose of calm in a wonderfully-curated weekend.

Marsy

With the ink still wet on their signing to Heavenly Recordings, London-based quintet Marsy stepped into their own on The Rising Stage. Reeling in a substantial crowd on Saturday afternoon, their sound is difficult to pinpoint as anything other than timeless. Characterised by some frankly exceptional songwriting, Marsy is headed up by lead vocalist and guitarist Hannah Rodgers with her brother Luke on second guitar and Ruby from Goat Girl on keys. Whilst still very much at the beginning of their career, the band's potential is as plain as the the nose on Pinocchio's face and we're seeing a Mountain Stage slot in their not too distant future.

Jennifer Walton

Our final selection from a truly magical weekend of music is the inimitable Jennifer Walton. Disclosing the effect of a few days of sampling local cider on her voice, i.e "charred and husky", Walton's music (and particularly the live show) feels all about contrast. Balancing darkness and light with a genuinely masterful touch, the softness in her compositions is offset with a harsh, chaotic energy that left us awestruck. With yet another excellent band, consisting of experimental harpist Aga Ujma on keys and Shovel Dance Collective's Dan Evans on bass (or bass 6 to be specific), the quartet's commitment to the execution of Walton's music was a joy to behold. Leaning in to opportunities to accentuate the extremes of her sound, it felt like witnessing something that could only ever happen once.