Nothing in British festivals can match the main stage backdrop at Green Man: the kind of mountain ridge that Lord of the Rings characters gaze at in worry. The tradeoff is often Welsh rain, but this year, with the sun out – and a bill stacked with smart, warm, confident artists – it has a fair claim to be Britain’s best festival, full stop.

The highest point is Big Thief, who subvert the laws of festival headline sets by filling two-thirds of theirs with unheard new material. From brawny country rock to pristine ballads and – on the all-consuming groove of Hand Through Table – headnodding post-rock, the new songs’ tonal range is huge....
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