Freddie Whittaker enjoys the scenery at Wales's Green Man Festival

THE first thing to say about Green Man is its location and site are absolutely beautiful.

I could genuinely spend four nights camping there without the music. Luckily I didn’t have to, as organisers had lined up an outstanding programme of bands for more than 20,000 music-lovers.

High-profile acts included the inevitably chilled Kings of Convenience, the mighty Band of Horses and Ben Howard, whose admittedly entertaining performance (I’m not a huge fan, but boy can he play live) was ruined by the behaviour of his mostly pre-pubescent fans.

But it wasn’t these well-picked headliners which attracted me to this festival, still relatively small despite its popularity.

I was tempted, enticed, drawn to Green Man by its clear commitment to showcasing fresh, new and up-and-coming talent, and not the kind of dross Simon Cowell peddles to the braindead masses.

It was at the foot of these rolling Welsh hills that I watched the relatively-unknown band Teleman perform one of the best sets I’ve ever seen from a festival band. Cool and confident, but not arrogant, they lit up the tiny Walled Garden area with songs which throw time signatures out of the window and an unusual lead vocal which definitely puts the listener in goosebump territory.

Teleman’s is a warm sound, glued together by the fact the band is super-tight (and a bit of well-placed synth). Their songs aren’t pop songs, but I can see them becoming popular. I remember catching them at about 2am in a tiny tent at Glastonbury, and if they were were a 10 out of 10 then, they certainly ramped it up to at least 15-and-a-half at Green Man.

Also in the Walled Garden, following a recommendation from a music journalist friend of mine, I stumbled (quite literally) across the sensational Mt Wolf. Mt Wolf is remarkable electronic band with a superb sound and a lead singer with a set of lungs which could put Imogen Heap to shame (which means a lot coming from me, I think Heap is superb).

I also got the opportunity to see Bristol band Towers, whom I had seen playing an acoustic set just days beforehand in a tiny pub in Stroud. They performed with their full line-up of crashing electric guitars, soaring vocals and some really great songs. Singer Jay Parker is an outstanding frontman, and the musicality and energy of the rest of the band adds to the experience. Having seen both acoustic and electric sets, I would definitely recommend the latter.

Emerging talent aside, some superb acts performed on the main Mountains Stage. Oxford band Stornoway played a great set, and once again the live performance was their saving grace for me, as I’ve always found the music a tad boring.

Folk hero Johnny Flynn, armed with his ever-distinctive voice and ever-weird instrumentation, was mind-blowingly good. I’ve always loved his music and his live performance lived up to expectation, his songs, although technically complicated, are re-created impeccably on stage.

Old folkie Roy Harper was superb and re-assuringly vulgar, despite performing in front of a tea-time audience of families and children, and Local Natives and The Horrors both performed overwhelming sets, packed with energy.

Green Man is one of the few festivals which is worth a visit for festival-lovers from every walk of life. It’s incredibly family-friendly, a safe environment for a teenager’s first festival, but it also has enough late-night events (like the incredible Chai Wallahs tent) to keep the hedonists among us thoroughly entertained until the wee small hours.

Tickets this year were around £145 for adults, and an extra £40 bought a “holiday ticket”, giving three extra nights of camping before the festival started if camping and exploring the Brecon beacons is your thing.