Y NOT 2026 | FIRST DAY FESTIVAL ANTICS

FESTIVAL REVIEW | Y NOT DAY 1, DERBYSHIRE | 31st July 2026 by Gracie Erskine

Y NOT 2026 turned The Peaks into a haven for all ages; incredibly indie, comically chaotic but a weekend to remember, nonetheless. 

With the ever-growing rise of mid-tier festivals, it’s becoming harder to distinguish the cream from the crop – Y NOT might just be that. As a camping festival it ticks every box for a memorable weekend. It’s not just the lineup that manages to conjure from every genre, or the various side-quests that you can adventure in between, but a hat must be tipped to the community and love that is spread from the crowd. 

Thursday

Early entry Thursday watched trolley-lugging punters pile in through The Peaks, unfortunately this turned out to be the hottest day of the weekend. Sweat pouring into cider stacked crates, strapped up backpacks repeatedly falling off shoulders but a hell out a lot of beaming smiles no doubt. 

Early entry days feel like you’re a secret member, some tents still closed off, last minutes preparations still in the works – just sunglasses and a certain feeling brewing in the air.  Synth-pop quintet Deco concocted a George Michael-esque cover of ‘Bittersweet Symphony‘, fashioning kitchen tile style checkerboard jackets, as the sun beamed down on the The Big Gin stage. Quite an ambiguous group, backed by a lot of crowd engaging efforts, still difficult to place in a synth driven bowl of lukewarm.

Noughties favourites Hard-Fi really did have everyone ‘Living For The Weekend’, reminding the head-banging toe-tappers of the field just what the 2000’s felt like. Up for debate how surprising the sheer amount of Ash fans seemed to be knocking about in merch. What once would’ve seemed like a singles band, really proved a deserving of such a loyal fan base. Sure ‘Girl From Mars’ trumps the commercial aspect of their catalogue, but with ‘Shining Light’ , ‘Goldfinger’ and even new track ‘Ad Astra’ drawing in lively crowds, Ash fully cemented their strength and legacy as a band.

Now, Y NOT really does span decades with its audience, little kids bopping away, ice-creams in hand, stood next to festival veterans who are partying hard ‘pallying’ up with festival fresher teens. It’s a really heart-warming sight for any live-music regular, but it did mean The Libertines set wasn’t quite met the reception it deserved. Maybe dancing moves were still limbering up, maybe ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ was just waiting to be sung, or maybe the doors to Club Malibu were just calling everyone’s name (you truly couldn’t escape the love for this place). Arguably, The Libertines headline set that Thursday was one of the strongest performances from the band in a while. It felt tight, clean, polished even, whilst still maintaining that sense of raucous-incurring energy as Pete Doherty swings his guitar round bumbling about.

The Albion Rooms backdropped the set, The Libertines co-owned hotel/recording studio and most recent album cover, it just screams that kind of iconic English indie image of the band that fuelled their 2000’s rise. By the time their set concluded everyone who wasn’t a fan, now was. There’s no room for arguing that running ‘Time For Heroes’ into ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ won’t domino some kind mosh from the crowd. 

And whilst the early nighters returned to their freshly pitched tents, the remaining half went to Club Malibu (there’s a reoccurring theme here) the night still partied either at the Carl Barat and Gary Powell Silent Disco set or the table dancing Big Indie Disco. The array of options at Y NOT is one of the strongest about, there’s Strawberry Fields for the little ones, a cinema, shops, the usual glitter and temporary tattoo malarkey. There was genuine sense of being looked after and catered for, all from day dot. 

Friday

As those a little late to the party rolled in Friday morning, and a smirk arose on the early birds, the first official day of Y NOT had begun. And in true Y NOT fashion, so did Lancashire Hotpots set. First on the bill, first to get everyone singing the Pepto Bismol advert, obviously. Only with a pint in hand, no signal, miles from home, is it acceptable to belt ‘diarrhoea’ at the top of your lungs at mid-day.

You’d think this would be a hard act to follow, ground shaking as backstage headliner worried how they could succeed such unity from the crowd. The Lilacs managed to do just that. There truly does seem to be a huge rise in love for indie bands at the minute, which is refreshing considering the drought the past few years have had. After a last-minute main stage upgrade, the Wigan four piece managed to lift friends on shoulders, put fires in bellies and had young fans bellowing out the words. 

This united front from the youth seemed to occur all day, with Freddie Halkon dropping jaws to the floor as young teens raised ‘Freddie Flags’ high on their mates’ shoulders, crowds rushing in as he stepped on stage. Watching emerging artists receive such love from a young and core fanbase just reminds you why this festival is so important. That coming of age right from kids in the area to go, to develop some identity over a messy weekend, to fall in love with music, to grow up with the songs that are shaping them.

But, has a song quite shaped this generation like The Royston Club’s ‘Cariad’ has? If you didn’t have a mate to blag getting on their shoulders, you weren’t seeing for the sea of people who’d managed to convince theirs. You wonder, is there some underground WhatsApp group chat for the synchronisation for getting up for ‘Cariad’? A spectacle that united all, from the tracksuits wearers to the all in blacks with eyeliner –  a generation takeover band. 

Scottish favourites The Fratellis followed shortly after on the main stage. You can’t have a festival, without having ‘Chelsea Dagger’ – it’s simply the rules. It turns everybody in the crowd into some kind of football hooligan at Milwall away, even the kids. The chant on that song seeps through everyone in the country’s veins; it’s addictive, its igniting and it’s generation spanning. 

Have you ever seen a tent cooler than The Giant Squid? With a nautical sea-theme that feels like some kind of hallucinogenic The Little Mermaid crossover, it poses as the coolest tent of the summer. The Covasettes brought an indie-pop party to the evening. And as good as they are a live-band, they’re also really quite funny. But The Giant Squid headliners Radio Free Alice, they just ooze cool. Musically sexy, incredibly tight, and for a band who reject audience engagement, keep you captivated. 

Now, The Reytons, well and truly the marmite of the music industry. After grafting their way up to headline status with eyebrow raises and Twitter brawls to accompany, they still maintain a highly devoted fanbase. With a guest appearance from recent feature Lucy Spraggan on ‘Buskers Paradise’ and a pyro party, you can’t argue they do try. Their headline set at Tramlines last year was something to be remembered and a real well done moment. This year festival headline was strong and crowd catalysing nonetheless, but not quite the middle finger to the haters that last years was.

Interviews with The Lilacs, Freddie Halkon and Lucy Spraggan coming soon.

Y NOT is set to return for another year with 2027 events making 20 years of the festival favourite. Tickets are on sale now.

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Gracie Erskine

Editor

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