* Today we caught excellent sets from Body Water, The Twang, Brogeal, Bayboards, Red Rum Club, Chloe Slater, Sigrid, Luvcat, The Last Dinner Party, The Subways and headliners Courteeners.
Four sold out days attracting up to 40,000 people – Thursday 31st July to Sunday 3rd August – to 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, Madness, Maximo Park, Annie Mac, 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.
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.
One of the star finds of this festival is Luvcat – the creation of Sophie Morgan who writes the songs and is the singer. These songs are catchy and quirky from Sophie, who used to be part of the Waterboys’ touring band.
The marketing stuff on Luvcat at TGE says: “Born in Liverpool with a longing for mischief, Luvcat ran away with a Parisian circus on the eve of her sixteenth birthday. There she became a magician’s assistant for many years; in feathers, silks and sequins. After a tragic trick gone wrong, Luvcat performed a final disappearing act, fleeing on a train through the ocean to the heart of London and slinking back into society.”
Not sure how much of that is true, but one fact I do know is Luvcat delivered a cracking set at Y Not? on Saturday on The Quarry stage and is a rising star and we have been saying so for some time now; and were also impressed with her set at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival this May, and was delighted she did an exclusive photo shoot with us then.
Inspired by “the dark, playful romance” of Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and The Cure, Luvcat began penning songs of “her travels and all the lovers and libertines she met along the way.” Watch out for Luvcat.
Check out our coverage of Thursday, Friday and Sunday…
Photos by Liam Battersby
Words by Chloe Ward
