Deep in the peak districts countryside, Y Not Festival prepared itself to be flooded by another wave of festival goers. Back in 2007, the festival attracted a total of just 1,000 people and it’s been steadily building itself since. In 2012, Y Not won best small festival at the UK awards and in 2014 the site welcomed some of the best bands and acts to grace its stages yet. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, 2015 brought forward arguably the festival’s most impressive line up. With headliners Snoop Dog, Basement Jaxx, and Primal Scream pulling huge crowds to the main stage and with plenty of top class acts set further down the running order the festival was tipped for success from the outset.
Sun out and with a fresh and exited crowd, the festival was soon in full swing. Lancashire Hotpots added some charm and hilarity to the day before Tunbridge Wells finest, Slaves, brought chaos to the stage. Fast paced and hectic, the duo rattled through a set that thumped out punk lyrics and heavily distorted guitar riffs, whilst showcasing their immense on stage presence and energy. With a fair few Manta Rays amongst the crowd, their very own crowd surfing creature almost got lost amongst the masses through ‘Feed The Mantaray’. Making it back on stage in one piece, it wasn’t long before both Isaac and Laurie had dived in amongst it themselves, leaving the crowd satisfied as always.
Young Guns were next up on the list and managed to build on the atmosphere set by Slaves with some diverse synth based rock, much of which features on 2015’s ‘Ones and Zero’s’. With more energy radiating off the stage, the festival’s first smoke bomb was let off and the crowd jumped and danced in a mad frenzy. ‘I Want Out’ created the most havoc amongst their newer material, and didn’t loiter in the shadows of ‘Bones’ which brought the atmosphere to its height.
A definite change of pace, John McClure strolled on stage calm and cocky, as Reverend and the Makers beckoned everyone to “bounce”. Close to home, the band never fail to create an atmosphere and although it’s clear that the older hits carry much more weight, their set was still full of all those boozy party anthems. ‘Open your Window’ and ‘Bassline’ were slotted in early on and with the Reverend himself egging on the crowd “anyone who’s not bounced thus far, have a fucking word with yourselves” the crowd soon obliged.
Away from the main stage at The Quarry, a busy crowd awaited the arrival of Raleigh Ritchie, chanting “Greyworm, Greyworm, Greyworm” (the character Raleigh plays in the hit series Game of Thrones) as the sound check underwent its finishing touches. Like all his live performances he encouraged everyone to dance and jumped madly around stage himself, full of energy. ‘Bloodsport’ brought his set to a climax and heard the crowd singing along to its catchy chorus “loving you’s a bloodsport”.
The tent now filling up, it was clear that Public Service Broadcasting were the culprits. The documentary film and music mashers set out on a “quest to inform, educate and entertain”, brought their quirky and unique sound to an audience that seemed made for it. Sometimes it’s difficult to grab a festival crowd’s attention but Willgoose and Wrigglesworth continued to attract more people throughout their set steadily building in numbers until the arrival of ‘Gagarin’. Welcoming on stage their trio of brass players, trumpets and other instruments alike added some more life to the song and with a dancing space suit in the background, it was fun and infectious.
As darkness began to set in, hip-hop’s controversial icon Snoop Dogg begun his headline set. Greeted by a huge crowd, many unsure what exactly to expect, the Dogg created a worthy atmosphere for any headline performance and although for a few it had its comedic moments it was certainly a set to remember. Surprisingly debuting some of his singing talents throughout ‘California Gurls’ — a song by Katy Perry in which he features on — there really was no end to the performer’s confidence. Beckoning the crowd to sing along to popular hits, with heaps of charisma and mischievous charm he wooed a crowd, made up of people from all walks of life.
Snoop Dogg
Public Service Broadcasting
Reverend and the Makers
Young Guns
Slaves
Raleigh Ritchie
Follow our coverage from Y Not Festival here.
Review and Photos by Jacob Flannery | @jacob_flannery