Now in it’s 18th year and following an attendance upgrade in 2022, the Y Not Festival, located within the idyllic peak district, the festival proves to be an extremely engaging, entertaining, family friendly festival alternative to the likes of Reading and Leeds.
It’s hard not to recommend the festival to any and everyone, not just in part to the diversity in music, but the wider festival activities opens itself to entire families. Whilst you have a music selection that covers all genres and ages, throughout the weekend there were plenty of family activities such as graffiti workshops, paint fights, Saturday morning exercises led by Mr Motivator, an onsite cinema and all manner of other family workshops and events in the strawberry fields.
It’s easy to draw comparisons to Reading & Leeds given the impressive list of headline acts who will no doubt be alumni from the aforementioned festivals, however Y Not creates its own identity as one of the most exciting alternative festivals.
One of the biggest strengths of the festival is its impressive focus on British acts, from a wide variety of locations and points in the homegrown musical timeline. Across the weekend there was an excellent selection of bigger name acts, such as Jamie T, Snow Patrol and Pale Waves, to smaller acts with a dedicated fan base such as Overpass, The Snuts and SOFY to name but a few. Each act delivered a joyous and energetic performance and picking a select few as high lights was extremely tough, but I’d like to highlight the following acts in particular:
SOFT PLAY
The newly renamed Soft Play, previously Slaves, still brought their mosh pit inducing music and aura to the Y Not festival. Performing a mixture of their original and new discography, the crowd emulated their high energy as they danced around the stage. They were an excellent highlight of the festival, not just for their music but for the crowd’s reaction to them before finishing with the excellent crowd, and my personal, favourite “The Hunter”.
THE LOTTERY WINNERS
A surprise, and my personal favourite act of the festival, The Lottery Winners are a newer band which have an interesting fusion of indie British bands akin to The Streets, with their spoken word-esque lyricism, fused with funky guitar pop melodies. No song emulates this better than their auto-biographical song “Letter To Myself” (sans Frank Turner) which churned a mixture of emotions within the crowd and the lead singer.
On this note, it’s very important to note the whole performance was elevated even further due to the extremely charismatic frontman Thom Rylance, who is a self proclaimed blend of Elton John and rag n bone man, who’s open, vulnerable and comedic interactions with his fellow bandmates and the crowd made it even more engaging.
DECLAN MCKENNA
The saturday evening slot isn’t easy, you’re the focus as the crowds gather before the “big” headline act for the day and no other act seemed more fitting for this time other than Declan Mckenna, given his meteoric rise to fame since his debut single Brazil was released in 2015. A song which still gets the entire audience singing and dancing along whilst still conveying it’s poignant message in the wake of the 2024 Euro competition.
To say the vibes were immaculate throughout his set would feel like I’m doing the performance an injustice but sometimes that’s the best way to describe it. The entire crowd was buzzing for the performance after a day full of excellent music, the sun was starting to set and the catchy yet politically charged songs were being sung loud and proud by Declan and the crowd. In excellent harmony between both audience and performer the set finished with ‘British bombs’ ringing out through the Peak District at a most relevant time in global politics.
RAISED BY OWLS
Without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest surprise of the weekend was the notoriously in-family friendly Raised By Owls set at the family friendly time of 2pm on Sunday. This clearly wasn’t lost on the band as they donned their Sunday finest, black shirts and clerical collars, before they shouted “hail satan” and nearly toppled the giant squid tent from their heaviest of heavy metal sets from the weekend.
Creating mosh pits, dance circles and flooring rowing is one mean feat for heavy metal music coupled with an infamous sound clip of British culinary legend Ainsley Harriet (you know the one) and culminating in a Mr Blobby appearance, dual wielding sex toys. As I said, a surprise for sure, but a very very welcome one.
HOLLY HUMBERSTONE
A gleeful Holly Humberstone took to the main stage Sunday afternoon to serenade the gathered crowd and allow her personal, introspective lyrics sung by her distinguishable whimsy yet powerful voice to wash over the crowd. Regaling the crowd with highlights from both her albums and singles including “Dive”, “Falling Asleep At The Wheel” and “The Walls Are Way Too Thin”. Holly’s charming personality shone through the grey clouds on the Sunday afternoon stage and granted a fresh, soulful, introspective performance during a weekend filled with high energy and nostalgic tunes.
THE VACCINES
Given the all-ages welcome feeling and approach of Y Not, it’s a no-brainer that The Vaccines played the Sunday evening gap. Consistently releasing a solid stream of catchy songs since their first album back in 2009, there’s been an anthem if festival ready song for each of the age ranges attending the festival. Whether it was the older songs such as “Post Break-up Sex” and “I Always Knew”, newer songs such as “All My Friends Are Falling In Love” or “Headphones Baby”, there was something for fans of any era of The Vaccines.
Coupling this iconic catalogue of British sing along anthems with the immaculate stage presence the band brought with them, The Vaccines should be on any British music fans bingo card to see live, whether at their own show or stealing the show at a festival full of outstanding performances.
As previously mentioned, I could sit and write about each act and how much energy, passion and gratitude they conveyed to be a part of the weekend. Each act brought the crowd to life in their own way, with their own genre of music and identity.
Coupling this musical line, the family focused activities with the festival’s ties to different charities and their clear support for everyone’s mental and physical health by having various points where individuals can talk to experts or take some time away should they feel overwhelmed.
Given the excellent music line up, the vast amount of additional activities, the physical and mental health advocates Y Not creates an amazing, friendly and safe atmosphere. All these points make Y Not one of the most prosperous festivals, so if you find yourself wondering what festival to attend next year, ask yourself Y Not?
Words + photography by Sam Huntley
