GREEN MAN LAUNCHES WITH AN INCREDIBLE LINE-UP

As the always-spectacular Green Man officially launches for 2016, we at Hotel Bell Tent have been left agog at the incredible line-up, featuring some of 2015’s stand out acts as well as some firm favourites, which will surely consolidate the festival’s reputation for showcasing the best of live indie, folk and electronic music.

The wonderfully offbeat Wild Beasts will be a headlining act not to miss as they bring their distinctive sound to Green Man’s gorgeous settings, and we’ll be hoping that their most recent album Present Tense gets a good hearing – and holding our breath for some new material as well.

As well as atmospheric festival favourites Belle & Sebastian and the Grammy-nominated superstar producer James Blake, we are over the moon to hear that the woman behind one of 2015’s most lauded albums, Julia Holter, will be playing. The anticipation of hearing this beautiful number floating by combined with Green Man’s incomparable view of the Brecon Beacons will keep us going until August:

And with the neuroscientist-cum-electronica wonder Floating Points, spectacular live act Battles, and 2015 success story (with good reason) Ezra Furman representing mere drops in the festival’s impressive ocean of talent – the Green Man line-up will be hard to beat for music lovers this year.

If you’re looking to enjoy all that Green Man has to offer with the minimum of fuss, Hotel Bell Tent has launched our 2016 packages and will be back again at our beautiful riverside location, spread over three areas, with the ability to choose your preferred location (depending on availability!).

HERE'S TO A JOYFUL 2016...

Let’s face it: all of those intentions we brightly professed to our dinner guests pre-Christmas, Prosecco in hand, don’t feel quite so appealing after that first ‘Ab Attack’ class of 2016.

Once all of the twinkling lights are taken down and promise of endless Christmas drinks have passed – strategically coordinated to initially ease us into the dark winter months – come January, all we have to show is a three day hangover and an extra spare tire, courtesy of a month of eating mince pies and slabs of stilton with wild abandon.

The promise of a fresh start is the natural way that most of us deal with the aftermath of festive indulgence. Gym bunnies across the country suddenly find themselves grappling with the masses in the smoothie aisle of Whole Food – but, as we well know, many January joiners will not visit more than three times before their membership comes to a floundering flop of weight not lost.

So how do we make the most of that new year feeling? It is well documented in psychological circles that anticipatory joy is just as powerful as experiential joy; it is intrinsically pleasurable in nature.  Researchers Van Boven and Ashworth (2007) argue that there is much to be said for anticipating events – to the extent that it can improve wellbeing – saying, “Our research suggests that the enjoyment people glean from anticipation might also be an important component of life satisfaction.” Who couldn’t do with more of that?

What’s more, our brains are actually capable of feeling more than one thing at a time, Lickerman (2013) tells us, meaning when things are feeling a little bleak, and we’re growing more convinced that more interesting things are happening to more attractive people in more fashionable places, having something fun planned for the future can bring us anticipatory joy even if we’re feeling down about something else.

Although perhaps not the single determinant of mood, a plan compounded by a ticket purchase to our favourite event or festival is bound to have a powerful positive influence. Daydreams over the coming months are filled with the pending reality of midsummer evenings and beautiful stalled sunsets. Whether we’re envisioning lolling about drinking tins of cider moments before going to see our favourite band, sitting around a camp fire after an exhilarating day watching the races or enjoying some quality time with our kids in lush green fields in the sun, there’s a mental image we can all keep in mind, no matter what is going on for us.

Further Reading: Van Boven Ashworth 2007 | Leveraging Anticipatory

WELCOME TO THE HOTEL BELL TENT BLOG...

Introducing our newest venture in the Social Media realm. As well as sharing the latest Hotel Bell Tent news, we’re also going to be introducing you to our wonderful collaborators and offering a wide range of relatable content for your reading pleasure; from lifestyle to wellbeing, music and all things event related. As always, if you have any feedback, suggestions or pictures, or would be interested in being featured or contributing in some way, we would love to hear from you!

At the moment we’re focussing on putting our 2016 events on sale, with The Silverstone Grand Prix, The Isle of Man TT and Creamfields already selling and the Carfest, Green Man, Standon Calling and Give launches just over the horizon — with some more exciting announcements on the way.

For now, keep your eyes peeled….