Y Not 2025

Throughout the years Y Not has played host to some incredible acts such as Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Blossoms & Basement Jaxx. This year’s lineup is shaping up to be an all timer with The Prodigy, Courteeners and Madness headlining and The Wombats as the Thursday night headliner, joined by acts like Primal Scream, The Last Dinner Party and Franz Ferdinand.

Thursday  #

Many smaller festivals offer Thursday entry as an optional extra, typically with a lighter programme and a mid-sized headliner to ease you into the weekend. I skipped Thursday entry last year and I found it made things a lot more hectic on the Friday as that’s the day the bulk of festival-goers arrive, so arriving Thursday this year was a nice change of pace, I didn’t feel like I had to rush around putting my tent up, or running back to the car, and it gave me the chance to relax throughout the day and pace myself for the weekend. 

Vistas 

Second last to play the main stage on Thursday, Edinburgh-formed indie trio Vistas drew a sizable crowd. Opening their set with “Tigerblood”, from their 2020 album “Everything Changes in the End”, they brought a great stage presence and warmed up the crowd ready for the Wombats. By the end of their set, which finished with “Retrospect”, the crowd had grown with many Wombats fans coming down early, and the energy surged with such a great crowd, all clapping and dancing along. 

The Wombats

Thursday headliners, The Wombats, brought an electric stage presence which reverberated through the entire valley. One man near the front of the crowd was dressed in a fur onesie with a homemade wombat mask on. The crowd erupted when the band came on. When they played particularly popular songs like “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Kill the Director”, Matthew Murphy’s voice was barely audible over the sound of the crowd. Near the back of the crowd, the energy remained steady as children sat on parent’s shoulders with ear defenders, arms in the air or firmly gripped on shoulders, it was clear everyone was enjoying themselves, regardless of age. 

Friday  #

Raised by Owls 

I had the pleasure of seeing Raised by Owls last year at Y Not, and this year’s set delivered the same chaotic dose of extreme metal. As always, their crowd work was top notch: completely unhinged and relentlessly entertaining. The crowd absolutely lapped it up, moshpits breaking out to every song, and even a competition for best mosher, with a band T-shirt going to the winner. It’s no surprise why they’ve become such a favorite at Y Not. 

Barrioke  

Flamingo Jack’s was buzzing for Shaun Williamson’s take on karaoke, known as Barrioke. The format was simple, festivalgoers joined Barry on stage to belt out crowd-pleasers for the whole set. It turned into one big massive singalong, with tracks like “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Shut Up and Dance” uniting the crowd. It was a proper festival moment that had the whole crowd going. 

The Prodigy

The Prodigy electrified the Big Gin stage with a high octane party. They so easily fuse punk rock, hardcore electric and classic rave energy into their sets and today was no different. Wasting no time, they launched straight into their 1994 hit “Voodoo People”, instantly whipping the crowd into frenzy. The frontman Maxim commanded the crowd from start to finish and did an impressive job honouring the spirit of Keith Flint; his presence felt incredibly powerful on stage. The band came back on stage for a thunderous four-song encore, comprising of “Smack My Bitch Up”, “Take Me to the Hospital”, “We Live Forever” and “Out of Space”, to a relentless and feral crowd. The set was exactly what you’d hope for from a Prodigy show: explosive electrifying chaos. [Harry] 

Maxïmo Park

After several difficult internal debates, catalysed by the amount of unmissable bands on this year’s lineup, I decided to miss the start of The Prodigy’s set for Maxïmo Park. Having been a fan for a number of years but never having caught them live before, I was reassured I’d made the right call. Bringing bags of energy and playing many fan-favourites, the crowd seemed to inch closer and closer together every song, which left every inch of the tent filled by their final song “Apply Some Pressure”. Running back to catch the end of The Prodigy, chants of “one more song” could be heard even as I joined the immense Prodigy crowd. [Ash]

Saturday  #

Sigrid

There was a distinctive buzz in the crowd as Sigrid took to the Big Gin stage, drawing an eager audience ready for one of the weekend’s standout sets. The Norwegian singer-songwriter delivered a confident performance, effortlessly commanding the stage for a full hour. Her set was packed with fan favourites, including “Sucker Punch”, “Strangers” and “Everybody Knows”, each song met with high singalongs and infectious energy from the crowd. Sigrid’s charm made it easy to see why she’s become such a festival favourite.

Luvcat

“Here we are again at the Kazimier garden” has been playing through my head since leaving the festival. It was a truly memorable performance from Luvcat as they played The Quarry stage, finishing just as The Last Dinner Party began on the main stage. Their vintage-gothic style was reflected in the crowd, with mostly young fans in eyeliner and dark makeup singing along to every word. Though I only caught the first five songs of their set before heading down early to see The Last Dinner Party, it was more than enough to get me excited for their upcoming debut album Vicious Delicious. 

The Last Dinner Party

Rushing alongside several Luvcat fans to The Last Dinner Party, I arrived with a few minutes to spare before the band’s orchestral “Prelude To Ecstasy” came on, and the band took to the stage. Excluding The Lancashire Hotpots, who had dressed as bin men, and changed outfits several times on stage, their costumes were some of the best of the weekend. Inspired by Classical and Baroque styles, singer Abigail wore a floaty dress and the rest of the band wore colour-coordinated vintage styles which, paired with the columns and grand piano, almost gave a feeling of having travelled back in time to ancient Athens. The crowd swayed and jumped along with the band’s soft harmonies, cathartic lyrics and energetic choruses. We even got a sneak peak of the lead song “Agnus Dei” from their album From the Pyre which is out on 17th October!. 

Courteeners

Though throughout the weekend, between acts, “Not Nineteen Forever” played a few times over the stage speakers, and the entire field was full of different voices singing along, nothing could have prepared me for the electric presence of Courteeners on Saturday. Arms in the air, signs up, official t-shirts on, the crowd brought the energy for The Courteeners. After “The 17th”, Liam Fray played acoustic versions of “It Must Be Love” and “Bide Your Time”, a fond flashback to their 2017 acoustic tour. The band then left the stage to chants of “one more song”, and came back for the encore, playing five more songs. They, along with the crowd, could be heard from the very back of the festival. 

Sunday #

Noasis

Kicking off Sunday, Noasis took to the Big Gin stage, having been bumped up from Flamingo Jacks due to massive demand. Riding the wave of the Britpop revival the lead vocalist Darren Spiby, with all the swagger of Liam Gallagher, cracked out covers of “Cigarettes & Alcohol”, “Roll With It” and “Some Might Say”, and the crowd sang every word back at them. For a tribute act, it felt remarkably close to the real thing.

The K’s

Off the back of their recent number one album, Pretty on the Internet, the K’s performed a ferocious live set. Opening the show to the lead single from the album called “Gravestone”. Jamie Boyle’s ability to create a connection with the audience is completely unmatched. The band even brought their number one album trophy to the set which was met by a rapturous applause from the audience. Their performance was incredibly captivating and the band’s energy was top notch.

Franz Ferdinand

With a catalogue full of chart-topping hits, several albums, and a long list of awards to their name, Franz Ferdinand could easily rely on their greatest hits - but they don’t. They are still eager to experiment with their music. The set was a blend of classic crowd pleasers and tracks from their newest album The Human Fear. The hour-long set balanced the band’s fresh material with its beloved hits, and if I’m honest everyone was there for the latter. Whilst the newer tracks were met with attention, as they launched into the fan favorites like “Take Me Out” and “No You Girls”, the atmosphere shifted into full blown excitement. It’s clear Franz Ferdinand haven’t lost their spark. They might not be breaking new ground, but it’s proof that they’re far from running on fumes. 

Madness

I was lucky enough to catch the beginning of Madness’ set from the top of the ferris wheel, which was a very unique way to enjoy their set, though only slightly tainted by the sheer speed at which it spun. Cracking jokes throughout their set, Madness brought bags of fun along with their brilliant playing on Sunday night. The last headliner of the weekend, they certainly did not disappoint. Their stage presence was truly unique, with Lee Thompson walking in front of the screens at two points, feigning throwing his saxophone into the crowd and laughing with the audience. Though there were a lot of fun moments, they brought a few important messages about education and global politics. Having never seen them live before, it was a very enjoyable experience and one I hope I’ll be able to get again. Their songs, graphics and brilliantly entertaining stage presence, including dressing up as police and borrowing beanies from members of the crowd, made the end of the festival incredibly memorable.

Y Not really hit it out of the park this year. It’s obvious they’ve listened to feedback and made changes based on that. The lineup, by all accounts, is the best It’s been in the festival’s 20+ year history. Having been to a number of festivals throughout the years, Y Not remains a top favourite for me, with a warm and welcoming family-friendly atmosphere and a huge range of great activities for all everyone. Thanks to André, Zoya and Alfie for having us this year!.

Pros: The sound bleed issues I wrote about in last year’s review were fixed thanks to some clever re-arrangement of some of the stages. There’s clearly been some more attention paid to the theming this year. One standout example was the Giant Squid Stage, which featured an enormous inflatable squid inside the tent, which really helped make the whole experience feel more immersive.

Cons: Food options were a bit of a gamble, with some decent, some forgettable, and most on the pricey side (even for a festival).

Highlight of the weekend: The Prodigy 

You can sign up for Y Not 2026 early bird tickets here