Y Not Festival has always felt like one of the UK’s best-kept secrets. Despite a capacity of around 40,000, the Derbyshire festival has never lost the friendly, independent atmosphere that helped make its name in the first place.
Having covered the festival for several years now, it’s one we always look forward to. Of course, this year’s headliners are enough to get anyone excited, with The Libertines kicking things off for Thursday campers before The Reytons, Two Door Cinema Club (celebrating Tourist History by playing it in full!) and The Streets top the bill across the weekend. Throw in Kaiser Chiefs, Dizzee Rascal, Scissor Sisters, Happy Mondays, The Vaccines (and their own album celebration!), The Fratellis, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Rizzle Kicks, Pale Waves, Reverend and The Makers, and plenty more, and there’s a hell of a lot of big names for the otherwise unassuming ‘little’ festival.
But Y Not has never really been about the biggest names.
Some of the best memories come from wandering into a tent to watch a band you’ve never heard of, unaware that you’re seeing the next big thing. Finn Forster played to a crowd of little more than fifty people beside a stack of hay bales last summer; months later he was opening for Stereophonics in front of tens of thousands. Balancing Act went from an early Giant Squid slot to sold-out European shows and a support tour with The Amazons. Go back a little further and in 2023 you’ll find The Last Dinner Party and Maisie Peters playing the Quarry; back even further and you’ve got the likes of Sam Fender and Tom Grennan doing the same. Even Frank Carter, who’s gone from headlining the Giant Squid with The Rattlesnakes to headlining festivals and jetting around the world fronting the Sex Pistols!
Not every band will reach those heights, of course, but that’s part of the excitement — not every band, sure, but any band.
On a personal note, this year’s tip is Keo. Trust us.
That sense of discovery is helped by the setting itself. Nestled among the Derbyshire hills, Y Not feels far more relaxed than many festivals of a similar size, while the mix of stages means there’s always another great band waiting just around the corner. Then there’s the legendary Sunday paint fight, where hundreds of festival-goers launch clouds of brightly coloured powder into the air, turning the whole site into a haze of colour and laughter, or the in-all-but-name house band of the festival, Raised By Owls, a local extreme metal band who somehow manage to up their comedic showmanship year-on-year.
You should join us. We mean, Y not?
Y Not Festival 2026 is sold out. Find out more about the festival HERE.
Written By: James O’Sullivan
