Held in the Peak District, Y Not Festival is a relatively small, yet perfectly formed festival, with a line up catering to most tastes, real ale tents, a whiskey bar and even a roller disco. This year’s line-up boasted a pretty vast array of bands, from the established, to the brand spanking new.
Friday Acts included Public Service Broadcasting with their blend of post-rock and WWII propaganda samples and Liverpool lasses and Alt-J support band Stealing Sheep. Johnny Foreigner entertained a small, yet lively crowd, with a set crammed full of songs from all three of their studio albums. The main stage played host to Dutch Uncles, who entertained with their Hot Chip-esque vocals and jerky, poppy beats. Both Mystery Jets’ and Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip’s sets were interrupted by a storm, forcing the arena to be evacuated and Scroobius Pip crowdsurfing his way out. Once the storm was over (naturally, it was still raining though) The Horrors played their headline set, full of tracks from Skying and Primary Colours. The weather cut their set short, but they still managed to close with an even more epic than on the album rendition of Moving Further Away – now who’s excited for album no. 4?
Saturday Yet more quality bands played, including Leeds foursome Sky Larkin and Drenge, who made an impressive amount of noise for two lads from the Peak District, with their raw, grungey sound. Swim Deep’s set included a cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and 65 Days of Static played a solid set. Saturday’s Main Stage line up was headed by Ash, followed by The Cribs. Ash got out their greatest hits, opening with Girl from Mars and ending on Burn Baby Burn. The Cribs also played a set jam packed with fans’ favourites, including Hey Scenesters! and Men’s Needs. We were also treated to Another Number, from their debut album and some striking visuals during Be Safe. The Wakefield brothers ended by smashing up the stage with a rather excited Ryan needing to be carried off.
Sunday Sunday’s line up was a little weaker than the previous two days; however The History of Apple Pie were good value, with their lo-fi pop sound reminiscent of Yuck. In addition, We Were Promised Jetpacks also played a great little set, and Toy (a band containing members of Joe Lean and The Jing Jang Jong – remember them?) seemed to fill the tent they were playing in. The festival was rounded off with a couple of slightly cheesy acts – Electric Six and The Darkness – who provided the weary, tired crowds with a bit of something to sing along to. Although you probably won’t be able to spend all weekend watching bands that you genuinely want to, like you would at bigger festivals like Glastonbury and Leeds, at under £100 for the weekend, Y Not is a great value, friendly and every year boasts some really great bands on its line-up.
By Katie Harrison
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