Fox Reviews Rock

Introduction

Y Not is an Indie, Pop and Rock festival based in the idyllic countryside in Derbyshire, UK. On arrival it is impossible to not get taken aback at how beautiful the setting at Pikehall is!

We were lucky enough to be invited to the festival as part of the press covering the event. This meant on arrival we needed to head to the Guest Box Office. After just a couple of minutes we were given our fancy green Press wristbands (Although I yearned for a fabric festival one too).

After what seemed like less than five minutes we had cleared security, with bag checks perhaps being somewhat lax compared to what we are used to. The walk from our car to the festival arena each day was pleasantly short, and I really love the inclusion of a little area before you pass arena security. This allows you the opportunity to grab some food and collect your bearings after what might have been a stressful drive, or a long night before in the campsite…

Thursday

Our first impression on walking into the area were that it felt huge! With lots of stages, and more importantly plenty of facilities. We enjoyed taking photos by the Y NOT sign. We noticed that this was something all the attendees seemed to love doing too!

After a short stop at the Press and Media area and a quick hello to the lovely people from Outside Organisation. We made our way over to The Allotment for our first music experience at Y Not. Grabbing a coffee on the way as it’d been quite the travel in despite only living one hour away.

Merchandise

Everyone that knows me, knows I am a sucker for merch! Every festival I go to I tend to pick up at least 1 t-shirt. Alas this time due to sizes (2xl is not an acceptable place to stop) I was unable to buy anything.

What I will say though is that the range was excellent. From various different hoodies and t-shirts on offer, to bucket hats and I must say two very fetching football style shirts!

Perhaps the festival could look into programs to buy as there is so many stages and despite being able to access the schedule on the app without internet, many believed you could not.

Crysometimes

We found ourselves really getting into Crysometimes. Their vocal flow was really refreshing and being a rocker we loved that this fit our usual demographic. With songs like “Hot Boyfriend” being a particular highlight. We started the set on the outside of the set sat on hay bails, before being enticed in by the suit wearing band!

The Kites

It has been quite some time since I have stood front row, but having listened to The Kites on the way to the festival. I knew this was an opportunity not to miss.

What I was greeted by was four young artists who had everything truly under control. While the band might still be at university, it is clear that they also have been studying what it takes to be successful.

Their Indie/Pop sound has the potential to catch the ears of many a person with true crossover appeal. We particularly enjoyed tracks “Emily, Emily” and “Drunk In Japan”. Their show was never stationary, there was always movement and vocalist Joe spent part of the show sat at the front of the stage. A move that made us and I’m sure the crowd feel more connection to the band.

Pixey

We were walking over the other side of main stage when Pixey started to perform. We originally didn’t have her on our list of acts to watch but there was something about her voice that hooked us in.

I think listening to her recorded tracks and the live show were completely different. With a stronger rock vibe coming through live. Her performance remained with us for quite some time and not just because of her bright pink hair!

Vistas

What I personally love about Indie rock is the feel good factor, a feeling Vistas provide in buckets! Their music really did feel like an uplifting experience with plenty of the crowd which was now beginning to fill up dancing along.

Their song “Retrospect” was warmly received by the crowd of festival goers, as well as by us! Vistas are actually a band I personally didn’t know of before Y Not. This really highlighted to me the importance of both this particular festival but also festivals in general. They are an excellent place for bands to grow their listener base.

Count me as a fan now…

Wombats

Despite the later start on the Thursday, we found ourselves somewhat tired. This feeling immediately left our body once The Wombats began their set.

Infectious energy and fun is pretty much their entire remit and boy do they fill it well. From dancing Wombats on stage to several songs about lemons, the crowd was hooked. Wham Bam, Thank you ma’am, as the band said…

They played mostly their hits with a couple of new songs thrown in for good measure. What was noticeable though was that the majority of the crowd genuinely knew their hits and this resulted in a really fun singalong!

Their song writing really does produce earworms and more importantly songs that people can dance to. If you can make people dance to Joy Division, you know you’re onto a winner. Particular highlights for myself were “Moving To New York”, “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)” and “Kill The Director”.

I have the feeling that by the end of that excellent performance that Wombats might now be everyone’s favourite marsupial. Move over Kangaroos!

Friday

On the walk into the area on the Friday I was greeted by the lovely folk at the Mentell booth. A wonderful charity organisation that helps men talk through their mental health issues. I want to use this space to tell men that their voices and feelings are important and to contact Mentell if you are struggling.

Entertainment

This I believe is a MAJOR selling point for the festival! You obviously have the music, which was stellar. But if you had a gap in your schedule it could easily be filled with comedy, several rides. Or maybe by watching films like Shrek or the Minecraft movie!

I even saw a sign for Lasor tag! Good job I didn’t take part in that though I would not want to make people feel bad!

The Futureheads

Who doesn’t love a little bit of post-punk to wake you up on a Friday afternoon? The band provide a real edge to the Indie space, but with sing a long songs to accompany that!

I spent a fair amount of their set discussing the festival with other people, with the mass majority having real positive things to say. However when I was focusing on the music boy was it good, especially “Hounds Of Love”.

Raised By Owls

Next up was my first visit of the weekend to the Giant Squid stage, positioned in the aptly named Harbour. This stage is the festivals heaviest stage and home to the rowdiest bands…

It did not disappoint! Local band Raised By Owls, who would not look out of place at other festivals like Download, provided some delicious extreme metal. Yet their crowd to my surprise (based purely on the cliental) were loving it! Myself included…

Their music while heavy provided many laughs due to the lyrics , but also by the bands general demeanour. I can see why they continue to get booked year upon year, especially after that Limp Bizkit cover.

Harpy

Having secured a front row position for Harpy, I was not prepared for what I was about to witness. Her guitarist and drummer came out affixed with what I could only describe as Hannibal Lector style masks. My attention was immediately grasped by the neck.

It didn’t go away either, especially after singer Harpy came out resembling what I can only describe as a seductive vampire temptress.

It would be remiss however to say that their visuals were the best thing about them. Their act was a blend of genres and a gothic masterclass at that! With catchy vocals combined with electrifying drumming and monstrous riffs, this was the complete performance and one I will not be forgetting any time soon!

The Hunna

I have to be honest the previous time I saw The Hunna I was disappointed. They did not play any of their hits and focused entirely on their new material. However I can say this time I was massively impressed. Their set was much more of a blend and I finally got to hear the belter of a song that is “She’s Casual”.

They really got the crowd interaction spot on too, not to mention an impressive show of acrobatics to liven the mood!

Himalayas

So I am a massive fan of Himalayas and as soon as I knew they were playing the festival it got my attention. There was no way I was going to miss the chance to see them live for the first time, and as appeared to be tradition throughout the day in the Giant Squid I found myself on the front row.

This was excellent. As was their music. With the live performances of “Thank God I’m Not You” and “Sigh On A Hurricane” now permanently etched onto my being. Their set was very tight professional performance, yet also felt warm and personal.

To accompany the brilliant music was a light show that over the course of the weekend would only be beaten by The Prodigy! The lights however did showcase just how much one of the band members looks like Neil from The Inbetweeners (Sorry no offence meant).

I personally don’t plan on climbing any mountain ranges any time soon. But if I did it would have to be The Himalayas now…

Barrioke

So who knew that Barry from Eastenders could sing? Well me actually, but that’s because Sean Williamson is a remarkable man!

This is a bit of fun and something to really relax to! His act is essentially him singing Karaoke songs with festival goers, and boy was it fun. Maybe some of the best fun I had all weekend! Turning up dressed as Meatloaf certainly made a lot of people laugh.

The Prodigy

So what if they were late coming on, it was for good reason. That extra few minutes to truly let it get dark really made the light show that was about to happen incredible. I had to pinch myself several times as I forgot I was at a music experience and thought it was bonfire night… Not only from the lights but also the smoke too.

The set finished at 11:30pm which in the UK is fairly rare, but being called a warrior never got old, even after the 30th time! I wasn’t sure if they were asking us so many times if we were still with them because they couldn’t see anyone through all the lights or if they genuinely didn’t know if the Y NOT crowd would enjoy them.

Enjoy them, they did!

Personally I was drawn so much into the lights that the music almost took a back seat but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the classics like “Firestarter”, “Breathe” and “Voodoo People”! I enjoyed seeing the next generation of fans really getting stuck in and dancing along with the tunes.

Truly a fitting way to end the 2nd day at the festival, even if it did make finding my car at 11:45 much harder!

Saturday

Mr Motivator

I didn’t know if we would make it in time, for the work out class that was booked as main stage opener for Saturday. But make it we did! Mr Motivator a tv cult icon, whipped up quite the crowd who really were getting stuck into his exercise regime. A bit too cheesy for me that time of the day, but yet another example of how the festival really did have something for everyone!

Food And Drink

I’ll kick this off with 3 words. Expensive but delicious! There was so much choice of food at Y Not with pretty much every need and/or taste catered for! We opted for a Yorkshire Pudding Wrap, which was tasty and filling but we both agreed vastly overpriced.

Other food we had included chips with curry sauce, and twice having the pork gyros because it was absolutely delicious the first time around!

Drink wise we were fairly reserved, when alone I treated myself to a pint of Brewdog, enjoyed on the balcony looking out at the festival. While accompanied we opted for our favourite cider in Thatcher’s Blood Orange. If not for the price we would have likely had many, many more of these!

Set In Motion

This is the epitome of what is great about festivals! Set In Motion are a local band to both myself and the festival, yet before this I had never heard of them. A mistake I am fairly sure that is on my part.

Everything about their set was really polished, the crowd although modest in size were loving it too! BBC Introducing handled the intro for the band and to be honest I don’t think the introducing bit is going to be needed for much longer.

It is only a matter of time before these guys have a massive hit!

Dirt Bloom

Grungy, alt-rock like tunes and commanding a crowd, what is not to like? I’ll tell you what… the fact they have only released 1 track so far. However having heard much more of their music in their set I can attest that these are one to watch!

The Twang

I think the band from 2004 are just one that I personally have never really got. Other than cult hit “Either Way”. That being said we sat down and watched their entire set and I found myself finally getting it, like something was finally clicking.

I could totally see why they had been booked as Saturday special guests, and the crowd really were digging them! A song that I previously hadn’t heard from the band “Barney Rubble” turned out to be a real highlight for me.

Brogeal

It was time to really get my dancing feet out! Scottish folk-punk rockers Brogeal brought so much enthusiasm and energy with them. There was a thoroughly engaged crowd for them, and to be honest I was wondering why they didn’t have a main stage slot!

It’s not often that I really let my hair down but this was such an occasion! Thanks Brogeal, sorry for the terrible dancing!

Red Rum Club

Maybe it was because we watched the band from further up the hill, admittedly with food and drink on our mind… But we were not sure exactly what the crowd were picking up on that we weren’t. Maybe we needed to pay them a bit more attention though to give a fair account of what we were hearing.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with their music, it just didn’t do it for us. Their song “Vanilla” perhaps summed up how we viewed the band as a whole. Sure it tastes alright, but we would prefer strawberry or mint choc chip!

Sigrid

Being massive fans of Sigrid (Yes I know this is meant to be a rock review website, but a man is allowed a guilty pleasure)! We made sure we got to the front row for the start of her set. We had previously planned to see her on tour , and this performance more than solidified that plan going forward.

The tiny Norwegian singer and her band captivated us from the moment the set started! With being so close you could see how much fun the band were having alongside her which is always nice to see. The crowd was absolutely huge and maybe even the biggest of the weekend? So much so that after 3/4 of her set we moved further back.

She played new song “Jellyfish” which went down really well and not just for the funky accompanying dance! To go alongside this she played all her hits such as “Strangers” and “Don’t Kill My Vibe”.

Don’t worry Sigrid nothing was going to kill our vibe. You smashed it!

Luvcat

We only caught two songs by Luvcat, but what we did listen to we really enjoyed. If their set had been longer we would have checked out more. Alas it had taken us too long to get from the press area post Sigrid to take in the full set as planned.

Eighty Eight Miles

A really great voice! That was the first thing that struck us when we caught the band on the Allotment stage. The pop/rock band really seemed to have a bit of following with them too which made it an even better experience. I would be interested in tracking their progress over the next five years as I have a suspicion the sky is the limit.

Summary

The Good

• The festival was a joyous celebration of all things Indie, Pop and Rock!
• Everything felt inclusive for all, with a special eye on making sure that families felt they could come. Honestly I have never seen so many children at a festival!
• The selection of activities outside of the music was really impressive.
• The choices for both food and drink, means Y Not surely is the envy of other similar sized festivals.
• The pricing for merchandise was more than fair! With Hoodies a mere £45!
• Regardless of which field we ended up parking in, the walk to and from the car to the arena never felt like a chore. Most of the time I would say it took 10 minutes maximum. Bravo!
• Security checks were as swift as they could be, even on initial festival entry.
• Excellent amounts of toilets for everyone, as well as fresh water points.

The Bad

• Prices for food and drink were somewhat crazy! With a cider costing the same as a four pack of the exact same thing. While a food item mostly priced around the £14 mark would be very expensive for a family of 4 over the full weekend.
• Sizing for merchandise in this day and age really should be going higher than 2xl. Even if options above this size incur a slightly higher fee.
• While I see the need for a one way walking path near the main stage later in the day, it did result in me missing a band I wanted to see.
• As someone who was not camping, and driving in each day. The fact I parked in 3 different fields with staff seemingly having no idea at all of what to do was a slight annoyance.

Final Thoughts

Y Not Festival really is a joyeous celebration of all things Indie, Pop and Rock! With an enviable choice in food and drink as well as a plethora of other entertainment options.

Sadly we had to leave the festival a touch early Saturday evening and missed all of Sunday, but have no doubt at all that we would have loved those had we been able to stay!

Y Not is a festival that we fully recommend to anyone, especially those wanting to try out the full family at a festival. We had a fantastic time and would not hesitate in the slightest to return!

Cheers Y Not, It was a pleasure!

Highlights Of The Festival – The Wombats, Himalayas, The Prodigy, Sigrid.

A special thank you to Outside Organisation PR for inviting us to be press at the event!

All rights to the songs used as part of this interview are retained by the artists in question. This site claims no rights over them. All photos unless stated otherwise were taken by Fox Reviews Rock. The following photographers took the remaining photos Ami Ford, Jake Haseldine, Izzy Challoner. These photos were provided to use for use by Outside Organisation PR.