Going to Y Not next year? Festival YAP

1.0 Introduction

Howdy folks, hope your all ok. I understand that the weather at the moment is pretty intense but remember it only comes once a year. So this summer for me has been a good one and it just keeps getting better at the moment. We've done a lot of traveling and I think we have covered a lot, but this will definitely be a first for YAPVibe. So I hope you enjoy :)

1.1 Why Not?

Before we get into the actual experience I will give you a run down of what Y Not is, for those who may not know it is a music festival in Derbyshire that runs every year. Normally around July/August time, it mainly consists of Indie/Alternative rock bands with perhaps a couple of pop/country singers. It is a 3 day weekender event, although sometimes 4 days depending on if they can fit someone extra in. I have put below the line up, just so you have a feel for what was on, list in the comments if you have seen any. You can of course camp there as well for the weekend but since I only lived half an hour away I decided to drive.

2.0 DAY: 1 Attack of the Phonics

Terrible title really but it is what it is. Day 1 for us was an interesting one really since we were not really bothered about seeing anyone. The main titles for day 1 were the Stereophonics, Gabrielle, Pale Waves, The Reytons etc. I was very optimistic about the Stereophonics, but as you will know if you have been to a few festivals they leave there best songs till last. They were not great and to be honest they did not exactly put an effort in with the crowd either. Gabrielle was very good, she sounded amazing and she did all her classic and did Teardrops by Womack Womack which was pretty cool. The Reytons I have seen before and as always they were pretty solid, they got everyone pretty riled up. My favourite that day was Pale Waves who put on a decent performance, they just sounded really good, better than them Stereo blokes.

2.1 DAY: 2 Court in a trap

Day 2 of Y not and was looking forward to hearing the Courteeners, Friday admittedly was a bit of a let down but there was hope that maybe today would be better. A few more headlines that we knew off were on like Sea Girls, Courteeners, Nothing but Thieves, Alfie Templeman and Cassia. We will start with Cassia who were somewhat known to me, they were really good and I ended up actually knowing a few of there songs which is always a bonus. My boy Alfie was just as good as when I last saw him a Neighbourhood weekender, really enjoy his bands music. Nothing but Thieves were ok, I can not deny their singer has a great voice. Sea Girls were very good, they called a fan up and made their day which was pretty sweet, it was nice to see them on the big stage. Finally the main event, The Courteeners.... were pretty mediocre. I hate saying it but again same as the Stereophonics if you do not know all the songs it just is not the same, and choosing to go home seemed better than waiting an hour for one song.

2.3 DAY 3: Judgement day

So overall the weekend was not really looking to good, although there were some stand outs, the main performances were less than impressive. Sunday was the day, the decider, the ultimate test, how did it go?

The hopes were high, one of my favourite bands the Blossoms were on as the main event and the line up was also quite pleasing what could go wrong. The artists we wanted to see were: Baby Queen, Amy Macdonald, Jake Bug, Easy Life and The Blossoms. It was a shabby start, Baby Queen although she sounded ok did not play the song I know and basically sung about how everyone's a loser. Fortunately Amy picked up the reins with her brilliant country music and some laughs with her amazing Scottish accent. Although I did not recognise his name Jake Bug sparked some memories as I had heard a few of his songs and provided a great performance. Easy Life started of with one of my favourite songs Pockets and of course did Skeletons which started to turn the tide of my thoughts on the festival. But there was but one act left, the main act that I had been looking forward to all weekend. The Blossoms.... Who absolutely smashed it out of the park, playing every great hit that they had released and fully restoring my happiness. Sunday was indeed the best day.

2.4 Miscellaneous

Ok so now I've got that off my chest I will now tell you about some of the other services provided at the festival. That's right Y not don't just have music but they have all sorts: Comedy Club, Cinema, Kids Area (for kids obs) and a butt load of food stands (that are absurdly expensive). My advice take a pack lunch and eat it in the car or tent if you are camping. One thing I did like which we bought everyday while we were there was a Donut from a stand called Project Donut. They were pretty peng and not to badly price, £7.50 for two, and if you think that's bad it was £6 for a Ice Cream. There was also a Jameson Orange stand where we both go a free mini Jameson and lemonade, they also did some contests but the line was really long.

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3.0 Conclusion

So in the end we discovered that not only are festivals expensive but they are what might make or break your weekend. One thing I will say is that if you see a band on and you only really know one popular song by them. Then it probably is not worth your time, we got pretty bored of waiting for artists to play the song we wanted which made it difficult to enjoy the weekend more. But we had a great time and I am so glad I went. I would rate Y not in terms of the event itself a solid 7.

Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it.

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Matthew

YAPVibe Blogger