Y Not Festival 2026 Review: Plenty to Explore in This Year’s Peaks

Words: Darci Jackson

Photos: Izzi Glover

Set in the heart of the Peak District, with a backdrop of rolling hills, greenery for miles… and a weekend of crowd-pleasing rock and indie acts? It could only be Y Not? Festival, Derbyshire’s sell-out event, with an increased capacity of 33,000 festival goers across the weekend, up from 28,000 in the previous year.

This year’s lineup felt like a rewind in time, with two of the four headliners playing albums in full to celebrate anniversaries. Not only that, but a 90s revival feel gripped the peaks, with bands like Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets and Ash playing, and a sprinking of 00s fervour with Hard-Fi, The Fratellis and The Streets.

Despite a wet and windy start to the Thursday morning, soon the sun shone through the clouds, taking the bad weather with it and setting us up for a weekend full of warmth. The Thursday early entry lineup felt like a bit like a treasure chest, with X marks the spot being The Big Gin. Hard-Fi, Ash and The Libertines got the gears turning, bringing not only throwback classics, but also the depth and breadth of their careers thus far, creating an atmospheric evening worth braving the rain that morning for.

Y Not Festival felt somewhat more lively this year, with the addition of the Dubtendo and Sub Culture stages, offering heavy baselines, and rave inspired cultures. And not to mention the Wii games being played live on the Dubtendo stage? We were quite simply obsessed.

Not only this, but the market stalls of local independent traders selling goods from clothing, to jewellery and vintage items, as well as the fiery art installations that came to life at night, it felt like Y Not had truly thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this year’s event, but it seemed to work, and offered a whole other dimension to what is typically an indie rock festival.

We can’t fault the navigator system either; a simple loop connecting the entire arena (we were beyond glad to see the shortcut between The Big Gin and The Quarry open consistently throughout the day and into the evening), as well as clear signposts marking campsites and other landmarks.

You know you’re in the peaks, when on Friday morning you wake to the sounds of sheep bleating, and as you open your tent and step out into the baking early morning sun, there’s a flock in the field next to you, happily grazing, and probably buzzing that they got to hear The Libertines last night.

Dizzy Magazine opened the day with The Lilacs, who’d been moved to the main stage from a mid-afternoon slot on the second biggest stage due to the sheer crowd that was expected to gather. And they did not disappoint, bringing their proper feel good rhythmic indie, and showcasing the confidence of a band who feel at home on The Big Gin. With their debut album coming out in October, you can’t fault the lads from Wigan.

"We’ve been here a few times before and we love it," mentioned The Royston Club frontman Tom Faithfull, as the Y Not veterans truly stole the show on the Friday afternoon, packing out the entire main stage. Once again, their rendition of the beautifully honest Cariad was breathtaking, and every time Dizzy thinks they won’t beat the last time, they only go and do it again.

And this is what we mean by Y Not throwing everything at this year, as Dizzee Rascal bounced onto the stage as we hurtled into Friday evening. Playing all the hits you’d expect, the mainly Gen Z crowd were so invested, hearing songs from their childhood to create not just an unbelievably energetic set, but also an incredibly nostalgic one. The dust that circled overhead after set had finished turned the air a musty brown, a sign (albeit one that gets up your nose) of moving feet and a good time had by all. The addition of different genres, and a different kind of act was a breath of fresh Peak air for this year’s lineup, and one we hope continues.

The Big Indie Disco was a favourite nighttime event of ours, compiling all of our favourite indie clubs that we frequented when we were freshly 18 into one big party. It sounds exactly how you’d expect, but somehow belting out the Arctic Monkeys in a random field with your mates just never gets old.

A standout set of ours from the weekend was overpass, playing The Quarry early on Saturday evening. Possibly the worst clash of the weekend (which was also probably unavoidable), the Birmingham quartet were on at the same time as indie giants The Vaccines over on The Big Gin. But despite this, overpass still drew a crowd that filled the tent, and was overflowing even, their passion and drive pouring out into every song. Opening with the first track on their debut album Union Station, the four-piece continued to play tracks from Everywhere, Always, as the crowd sung back every word in pure unison. Spurred on by this community as one, overpass ended on an emotive rendition of Is This Real?, solidifying their place as one of the best indie rock newcomers to catch live.

Saturday’s headliners included Two Door Cinema Club, The Enemy, and Inspiral Carpets, a clash which gave many a headache (and not from the booze either). Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs urged his crowd to go and catch the Inspirals, whose new music marks a revival for the 90s synth driven Madchester band. Packing out their tent at The Giant Squid, we’d have loved to have seen Inspiral Carpets on a bigger stage, as their showmanship still gleams bright and energetic.

Two Door Cinema Club, Northern Ireland’s 00s indie heroes, played a dazzling set of hit, after hit, including the entirety of Tourist History which last year celebrated its 15th anniversary. A spectacular light show, in addition to their blasé antics on stage, made for a crowd-pleasing show that churns up a longing for days gone by. Something we’ll never get tired of.

Opening the Sunday for Dizzy was Brooki, Ireland’s latest offering in the incredible talent currently coming out of the country, Despite having no music yet to stream, the band drew a respectable crowd with their effortlessly loud rock and impressive stage presence, making us eager for what lies ahead for the four piece.

"What the fuck is this festival," said a stunned Jordan Stephens, of hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, whose Sunday afternoon main stage slot was the most entertaining of the weekend. Complete with backflips, ‘slut’ hats and beer crate snakes (trust us, you had to be there), Rizzle Kicks and band brought the most fun, high-energy set we’d seen all weekend. By not taking themselves too seriously, the pair brightened up the gloomy sky, playing a mix of their big hitters from the 10s, as well as new music, and Dizzy are truly excited for this comeback.

Closing out the festival was The Streets, playing A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full, before finishing with a multitude of tracks from their wide discography. A truly mesmerising set that was out of this world, Y Not Festival stepped up the bar this year to create a weekend full of something for every kind of festival goer. We’re just wondering what they’ve got hiding up their sleeve for the 20th anniversary of the festival next year…