Y Not Festival 2026 Saturday Review: Nostalgia, Fancy Dress, Fitness and Festival Magic in the Derbyshire Sunshine

Saturday at Y Not Festival 2026 was everything a summer festival should be. Blue skies stretched across the Derbyshire hills, music poured from every corner of the site and thousands of people embraced another day packed with unforgettable moments. If Friday belonged to The Reytons, then Saturday belonged to the people. Families danced together, lifelong festival-goers relived old memories, younger fans discovered new bands and groups of friends made the kind of memories they’ll still be laughing about long after the tents have been packed away.

The day began in the most unexpected way possible. Forget quietly easing into the morning with a coffee, Mr Motivator had other ideas. Before leading an energetic aerobics session, he introduced a charity single raising money for homeless children, setting a genuinely uplifting tone before hundreds of festival-goers joined him for a full workout. Men, women and children bounced around together alongside two giant inflatable sharks, Mario and Luigi, members of the fire brigade and even ambulance crews, all dressed in an explosion of colourful spandex. It was wonderfully ridiculous, brilliantly British and exactly the sort of moment that makes Y Not feel different from every other festival.

As the morning sunshine settled across the site, Sia Raw provided the perfect soundtrack with a beautifully relaxed set of indie pop-rock. Her soulful vocals drifted across the crowd, creating one of the weekend’s most peaceful moments as festival-goers eased into another day of music. Rather than demanding attention, her songs gently drew people in, rewarding those who arrived early with one of Saturday’s hidden gems.

That laid-back atmosphere didn’t last for long. Scouting For Girls arrived on the main stage and instantly transformed the field into one enormous choir. Frontman Roy welcomed everyone by declaring they had officially become “the fifth member of Scouting For Girls”, and within moments thousands were singing every word back at the stage. Clouds of dust rose beneath bouncing feet as classic after classic followed, including Heartbeat, while the band reflected on the fact that next year marks twenty years since both they and that song first appeared back in 2007. They even squeezed in another rendition of Come On Eileen, which by this point had somehow become the unofficial anthem of the entire weekend. Looking across the crowd, it was impossible to find anyone who wasn’t singing along.

Away from the main stage, Flamingo Jacks was once again proving why Y Not is about far more than the bands on the poster. Dom Joly entertained another packed audience before the annual fancy dress parade took over, and it quickly became one of the most joyful spectacles anywhere on site. This wasn’t a handful of people making an effort. It was hundreds. Barbie rubbed shoulders with Batman, Mr Bean posed for photographs alongside Slimer, dinosaurs wandered past Power Rangers, Nessa from Gavin & Stacey shared the stage with Popeye, while one entire family stole the show dressed as Elton John. What made it even better was seeing adults embrace the competition with just as much enthusiasm as the children. Festivals thrive on music, but moments like this remind you they’re equally about creativity, community and not taking yourself too seriously.

Vanessa Carlton delivered one of Saturday’s most heartfelt performances. While many had gathered expecting A Thousand Miles, she demonstrated just how much depth exists throughout her catalogue, moving effortlessly between piano-led ballads and more uplifting songs that perfectly suited the afternoon sunshine. One particularly emotional moment came as she spoke about her beloved dog Victor, who sadly passed away in 2020 after travelling the world alongside her on tour. She dedicated Lolita Fairytale to him, creating an intimate connection with the audience before revealing that Y Not was actually the first festival she had ever performed at. Naturally, there was only one way the set could end. As the opening piano notes of A Thousand Miles echoed across Pikehall, thousands of voices instantly joined together for one of the biggest singalongs of the weekend.

If Vanessa Carlton offered emotion, Marisamari delivered complete chaos in the best possible way. Over on The Giant Squid stage, her blend of hyperpop, emo, synth-pop and bubblegum hooks produced one of the festival’s most unique performances. Joined by a percussionist and synth player, she barely stopped moving throughout the set, dancing relentlessly while delivering songs that balanced sugary pop melodies with surprisingly dark lyrics. Imagine Charli XCX colliding with emo influences and flashes of Katy Perry-style pop, and you’ll be somewhere close. A hyperpop reworking of Rihanna’s Sticks & Stones provided another excuse for the packed tent to dance, proving once again that some of the weekend’s best discoveries were happening away from the headline stages.

Saturday afternoon then took a nostalgic turn as Happy Mondays brought the spirit of the Hacienda to Derbyshire. Shaun Ryder’s unmistakable vocals were matched by Bez doing exactly what Bez has always done, dancing non-stop from the first song until the last. As Step On blasted across the festival, thousands attempted their own version of the famous Bez dance, with smiles stretching across the field. For some, it was a trip back to the early 1990s. Judging by a few faces in the audience, plenty of old-school ravers were enjoying reliving those memories.

The Vaccines followed with a performance that reminded everyone why What Did You Expect from The Vaccines? remains one of the defining indie albums of its generation. Playing every track from the record before moving into later material, the band delivered hit after hit including Wetsuit, If You Wanna, Teenage Icon and I Always Knew. For older fans it was pure nostalgia, while younger members of the audience were given a reminder of just how influential those songs became. They closed with All My Friends Are Falling in Love, but for us the biggest moment remained Teenage Icon. More than a decade later, these songs still sound every bit as urgent and exciting as they always have.

Between sets we caught up briefly with Liam C ahead of his Sunday appearance. After a quick chat, we promised we’d be down the front for his performance before seeing him again later this year at Derby’s Invention Festival.

If there was one performance that completely transformed The Quarry, it was The Enemy. The tent was already packed long before they appeared, and from the opening song there was no let-up. Anthem after anthem kept the crowd moving, but the defining moment came during We’ll Live and Die in These Towns. Hearing thousands of people shout every lyric back at the band created one of those goosebump moments that reminds you exactly why live music continues to matter.

Closing the main stage, Two Door Cinema Club provided the perfect ending to another huge day. Watching from near the Helter Skelter offered a completely different perspective as the band’s visuals stretched across the night sky while thousands packed the arena below. Riders on the Helter Skelter probably enjoyed the best view anywhere on site as hit after hit followed, including I Can Talk, Something Good Can Work, Undercover Martyn and What You Know. It was the ideal soundtrack to another unforgettable Derbyshire evening.

Of course, nobody was quite ready for bed. As soon as the headline set finished, the crowds simply migrated towards Club Malibu and the festival’s late-night venues, with DJs, live entertainment and dancing continuing well into the early hours.

What made Saturday special wasn’t one headline performance or one defining moment. It was everything happening in between. Morning aerobics with Mr Motivator, hundreds of homemade fancy dress costumes, families dancing together, emotional singalongs, Madchester nostalgia, indie classics and left-field discoveries all combined to create another unforgettable chapter in Y Not Festival’s story. That’s the magic of this festival. It has never been just about the biggest names on the poster. It’s about creating a weekend where every generation finds something to fall in love with, whether that’s discovering a new favourite band, reliving an old one or simply laughing alongside thousands of strangers in the Derbyshire sunshine.

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