Dry your eyes mate; don’t cry. I know it is the last day of Y Not? Festival 2025 and these past four days have been a wonderful experience, but you’ve made some indelible memories and can look forward to this time next year to do the whole thing all over again. Yes? You betcha sweet bippy you can…
What a blast Y Not? has been for thousands who came from across the UK and overseas to enjoy this lovely safe festival, in the most beautiful setting, offering a really fab array of bands and artists – big names and rising stars – and some great comedy to keep everyone entertained day and night. Plus the lovliest site for camping you could think of. What’s not to like?
Four sold out days attracting up to 40,000 people – Thursday 31st July to Sunday 3rd August – at Greenview Farm in Pikehall in the stunning Derbyshire Peak District. The 18th edition of the lovely Y Not? Festival, which has become an unmissable fixture in the North’s music calendar. Since 2005, Y Not? Festival began life as an over-spilling house party in “deepest” Derbyshire; and Y Not? has stayed homegrown and true to its roots.
Another sparkling line-up; including headliners The Wombats, The Prodigy, Courteneers, today’s bill toppers Madness. Maximo Park, Professor Green, The Slow Readers Club, The Subways, The Academic, Pastel, Marseille, Wilkinson, Tik-Tok star Fish56Octagon, comedians Justin Moorhouse and Clinton Baptiste, and stacks more bands and artists on several stages around the site.
“That was insane – that’s the best crowd I’ve ever seen,” a member of Madness was heard uttering as they left the stage before the encore of their Sunday night headline set.
Singer Suggs led the band through a set packed with stone-cold pop classics ahead of their forthcoming Hits Parade Tour later year. “One Step Beyond”, “Baggy Trousers”, “Our House” and, of course, “It Must Be Love” – the crowd sang every word.
* Today we caught excellent sets from Better Joy, Cliffords, Cat Ryan, The K’s, Pigeon Detectives, Shed Seven, King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys,Franz Ferdinand and headliners those nutty boys Madness.
* Plus comedian Clinton Baptiste from Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights [aka actor, comedian and voice artist Alex Lowe, who is also the voice behind Barry from Watford who was a regular on Steve Wright’s BBC Radio 2 show and was first introduced by Iain Lee’s radio programme]. *
Also on the eclectic bill are The Last Dinner Party, Franz Ferdinand, Hard Life, Sigrid, Shed Seven and loads and loads more. BBC Introducing hosts up-and-comers Jean, Cottons, Riley Marsh, The Faith Estate, Dirt Bloom, Terrianne, Kelsey & The Embers, Set In Motion and Tom Hewitt, as the curators of the early slots on The Quarry stage.
Annie Mac was due to headline the Quarry stage on Sunday night, but was unable to be there for some reason, and was replaced by Circa Waves. Annie did perform at Wilderness Festival in the Cotswolds the night before (1am in fact) to a packed out tent.
Sunday opened with tribute band Noasis, who had watched Oasis at Wembley the night before. James ‘Noel’ Cropley, said: “I loved it. We saw Oasis on Saturday at Wembley and it still seems a bit weird that I was watching them do Champagne Supernova last night and here I am in front of 20,000 people playing the same songs. It’s a reality check sometimes. But it’s still magical for us to come out and play to this many people. So, perfect. All right. Yeah, I’ll see you.”
Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos was full of praise for Shed Seven, and excited to see headliner Madness. He told the crowd: “The first single I ever bought as a boy was ‘Baggy Trousers’, so I’m really excited about that.” They followed a lauded Glastonbury set with an even more spectacular Y Not show.
Before leading Shed Seven through hits including “Chasing Rainbows” and “Going For Gold”, indie legend Rick Witter said: “Y Not is an amazing festival. It’s really safe. It’s very well run, it’s clean, and it’s full of lovely families, and we’re going to rock it.”
Rick tells the Y Not? crowd: “We got quite popular in the 90s. Who here remembers the 90s?”
Pointing to a youngster in the audience, he asks the boy’s age. 10-years-old. Rick responds: “10. You wont remember the 90s. Mind you, I don’t remember much of the 90s either!
Fresh from their number one album success, The K’s stormed the Big Gin stage to one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. Drummer Nathan Peers said: “We’ve had such an overwhelming week – in the best way. The love we’ve been shown, the support we’ve had – it’s just been so overwhelming. To get a number 1 album and then go out to a crowd like that – it’s just the cherry on top.”
Pigeon Detectives’ singer Matt Bowman is a ball of fire on stage. If he is not leaping high in the air, he is lobbing a can of water towards photographers in the ‘pit’ or over his head….or swinging the microphone around and around and way up high on its lead, catching it when it descends at speed. Amazed he has not lost teeth in the 21 years this band has been going since forming in Leeds.
Matt does have the occasional mishap though, as he told the Y Not? crowd on Sunday. Revealing that the day before their Derbyshire festival performance, they were at Kendal Calling near Penrith in Cumbria, where he fell on stage.
Pulling up his shirt for the Y Not crowd to see the massive purple welt on his back and above hip. He said the doctor [“the imaginary doctor in his head”] told him not to perform today, but he told him to f*ck off! We are glad he did; they are a damn fine band. But I hope Matt has key-man insurance for work injuries!
Factoid: Mark and his band appeared in children’s TV series Teletubbies, live. Really! Check out Youtube if you don’t believe it…
* Our favourite performances across the four days are Thursday: Wombats and Vistas, Friday: The Prodigy and Primal Scream, Saturday: Luvcat and The Last Dinner Party, Sunday: Franz Ferdinand and Madness. *
‘Best of show’ “award” goes to….the team behind Y Not? Festival for the smooth running of a wonderful event and booking some great new and not so new bands/artists. Providing a safe and sound space for friendly music fans of all ages, from the very young to the not so very young.
And it is also a place for those who could not give a flying one about who is singing or strumming a guitar on any given day, and just wants a few days away camping in the stunning Derbyshire countryside, with plenty of food and drink on tap and a bit of entertainment should they fancy it. Bravo Y Not? Same again next year please… dates for your diary: 30th July – 2nd August 2026.
Y Not? Festival’s John Dell said: “Y Not Festival saw our biggest ever Thursday night with a set from the Wombats, a thunderous Prodigy headline, an anthemic Courteeners and a glorious Madness performance. An Oasis sing-along in the Derbyshire countryside was ideal for a Sunday afternoon. It’s Oasis summer after all!
“This year’s Y Not Festival has been the best ever, and we’re proud to bring the likes of The Last Dinner Party, Primal Scream, Sigrid and Maxïmo Park to the Peak District. The crowd has been immense throughout – thank you to everyone who made this the party of the year!”
Check out our coverage of Thursday, Friday and Saturday…
Photos by Liam Battersby
Words by Chloe Ward
