Festival Review: Y Not Festival 2026
With noughties indie favourites sharing the bill with some of the scene’s brightest new names, Y Not Festival looked back while proving its future is just as exciting.
From an intimate house party in 2005 to a fully-fledged 33,000-capacity festival, Y Not Festival has always been one of the most established independent music festivals on the UK festival calendar. As each year passes, the sprawling event set in the foothills of Derbyshire Dales seems to get bolder, bigger and better. This year was certainly no exception.
For younger festival-goers, Y Not offered a glimpse at British indie's next generation from the likes of The Rosadocs, KEO and Friday headliners The Reytons. For those more seasoned millennials, the festival masterfully incorporates legendary acts into the line-up with Ash and Happy Mondays taking up spots, as well as masterful tribute collective Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense Live taking centre stage in one of the smaller tents. For those older Gen Z’ers - those in the mid to late '20s - the festival offered a healthy dose of nostalgia for their teenage years.
Celebrating the meteoric rise of noughties indie bands, this year’s iteration saw a blockbuster of artists celebrating iconic album milestones. Saturday headliner Two Door Cinema Club took a trip down memory lane by performing their debut Tourist History in full and greatest hits, while The Streets took a trip down to the bus stop closing out the festival in style with a theatrical display of A Grand Don't Come for Free in full. An ever-important record endorsed by tomorrow's artists still influenced by it, Mike Skinner forever remains one of Britain's most distinctive live performances. Is it hip-hop or is it spoken word poetry? The difficulty in defining it only makes it more intriguing.
Elsewhere, fellow indie stalwarts The Vaccines were having their own anniversary party, as they enjoyed playing select picks from What Did You Expect from the Vaccines? - a full 15 years since its release in 2011. Aside from making you feel old, some of these records were the catalysts for many people's love of indie music - including me. Both Two Door Cinema Club and The Vaccines had a crucial part to play in me finding myself throughout youth with these records being some of the first I owned with my own money I had saved from that pot-washing job I had.
It's one of the reasons festivals like these feel so special - reminiscing about the good old days of teenage angst enjoying it with fellow indie-dwellers among a friendly, community spirit.
It wasn't set albums that wound the clocks back either. An artist not devoid of any big singalongs, Kaiser Chiefs perfected a marvellous showing on the main stage bringing the likes of classics ‘Ruby’and ‘Modern Way’to the fields - which no doubt soundtracked your younger years one way or another. Really putting legendary into legendary, glam rock maestros Scissor Sisters brought a bit of gender-defying colour to the Dales sharing their boundless hits since late 2003. Singer Jake Shears dedicated ‘Take Your Mama’to all those moms and mums who played their first record in the car. A memory I share fondly with many I'm sure.
Forever being the voice to the young and misguided, newly reformed Rizzle Kicks took their chaotic charm and energy to a raucous crowd that featured beer snakes, crowd backflips and of course, ‘Down With The Trumpets’. An integral figure in grime's emergence before finding huge crossover success, Dizzee Rascal relived the glory days with another emphatic set worth remembering. Two familiar acts who similarly dominated the first two decades since the turn of the century, it was delightful to see such artists connecting with multiple generations of fans.
Striking a fine balance between established fan-faves and promising talent, the programming for this year’s festival truly excelled. Digging deeper into the line-up, some of the weekend’s stand-out performances came from exciting new acts including Freddie Halkon, The Snuts and Radio Free Alice. Elsewhere, The Cheap Thrills, the Covasettes and Y Not staples Raised by Owls proved equally worth keeping an eye on.
With bigger acts comes bigger opportunity too - with capacity expansion, some facelifts were in order. This year’s iteration saw expansions in both the purpose-built old-style tavern Hog & Barrel - making it one of the busiest social spots on-site - and the Strawberry Fields area, really driving home Y Not being one of the most family-friendly festivals going. This year also saw new dance areas Dubtendo and Sub Culture being introduced allowing those underground raves to happen while all the kids are in bed. It was certainly nice to arrive early and have a wander through the site taking in what's different from the year previous!
A packed schedule also promised plenty beyond the music. Beginning your days with comedy became a rite of passage while paint fights and fancy dress competitions became fanatical meets - and let's not be forgetting that fire-breathing, saxophone-playing dragon anytime soon.
A capacity which makes it feel relaxed and intimate, Y Not Festival continues to deliver in both setting and atmosphere. Taking advantage of the spectacle is always a recommendation. Whether that's getting up early to witness the sunrise over the brow or opting to drive in to witness the gorgeous valleys and sweeping rolling hills (which we do almost every year), the setting is just a small part of what this event offers. And that's before you've even stepped on festival grounds.
Despite welcomed changes to the arena space, the increased capacity did prove a challenge in the campsites this year. Many festival-goers felt disgruntled with the lack of facilities available despite the rising numbers on the same plot of land. Signposting also posed its problems with many not realising that urinals existed until the latter stages of the weekend.
But again, these are minor disturbances that can be easily rectified and are expected to a degree whenever any festival expands.
With that said though, Y Not is ultimately a festival that celebrates the very best of indie old and new and enjoys looking after those that make it. A reputation that is presently justified in the live music circuit, Y Not will no doubt continue to grow while keeping that friendly atmosphere intact.
Y Not Festival will return to the Peak District from 29 July – 1 August 2027 for a special 20th anniversary edition. Tickets are on sale Friday 7 August, and the pre-sale sign-up is available at ynotfestival.com/2027-pre-sale.
Photography By: Joe Hart, Andy Holbrook and Matt Greenwell