There is no better setting for YNOT festival with the main stage standing proudly in the unrivalled landscape of the Peak District, Pikehall Derbyshire. 2026 filled stages with big names and incredible emerging talent – the only drawback of the weekend was deciding who to watch or which band the sneak out early to see another set. Each year the lineup gets bigger and better – without a doubt it never disappoints.
THURSDAY:
The Big Gin mainstage was filled in true indie style with Deco, Hard-Fi, Ash and The Libertines with the crowd-pleasing anthems. The weekend started with the sun shining, and energetic sets from the Thursday bands. My Thursday highlights were The Slates and Ash. The indie-rock Yorkshire based band The Slates performed on The Pit stage. The tent was packed out and whether you knew the songs or not, the band really got the crowd going; singing along with ‘What have you done’. The band Ash of course played the classic song ‘Girl from Mars’ and the cover of ‘Jump in the Line’ really got the audience engaged. As a band I’ve never seen before, I was really excited; they truly exceeded all expectations. Thursday night ended with The Libertines who played cheesy indie-disco songs ‘Can’t stand me now’ and ‘Don’t look back into the sun’ – I was guilty of only enjoying these two songs.
FRIDAY:
Wigan based band The Lilacs were the first to take on the mainstage after being promoted due to high demand. I have seen their following grow over the years packing out every tent they have played at YNOT. All around me in the crowd were fans wearing The Lilacs merch from t-shirts to bucket hats (a festival essential). They played some new songs from the up-and-coming album ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ along with the crowd pleasers ‘Grace’ and finishing on ‘Vicarage Road’. As a Sally myself I am sad to see ‘Sally’ did not make the set list. An incredible first time on the YNOT mainstage – big things are coming for these lads.
Reverend and the Makers played ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ absolutely getting the crowd going with this hit song and an engaging set. Cherryholt then performed at The Quarry, my favourite song being ‘Irresistible’. This band for me truly encapsulates the indie genre.
Freddie Halkon performed on the mainstage with a real confidence, and he was so much more than a lad with a guitar; playing the popular song ‘Girl in the smoking area’ getting the lyrics sung along with him. However, I had an ulterior motive to get a good spot for The Royston Club.
Without a doubt The Royston Club was a highlight of my weekend at YNOT. The whole crowd were fans – the music seemed to bring people together, connecting people with emotive lyrics, and flawless vocals. The set included a perfect balance of songs from both albums. Of course they finished with Cariad from their latest album. Everyone was singing along – albeit slightly too enthusiastically when singing quicker than the actual song!
Now controversially, I skipped most of Dizzee Rascal to watch The Covasettes on the Giant Squid stage. The front man had a great stage presence; I really enjoyed this bands set – highlight being ‘Love in Polaroid’. Following this, a speed walk to the mainstage to watch the bangers like ‘bassline junkie’ and ‘holiday’ from Dizzee Rascal. In the crowd next to me, a group of lads had come from watching The Cases, gutted to miss this however I overheard how great they said they were (I did witness in 2025).
The Friday night headliner was The Reytons, a band which has grafted hard to get where they are. This band put on a fantastic show with a meaningful stage set up of shop fronts and telephone boxes. Starting off with the song ‘Red Smoke’ – the crowd was truly full of literal red smoke from flares and endless people on shoulders. The set included fire, sparkling fireworks, and a confetti cannon of letters. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, they brought out Lucy Spraggan for ‘Busker’s Paradise’ which was a special moment. Even though it was incredibly dusty due to the hot weather – this didn’t stop me singing along and losing my voice.
SATURDAY:
Scouting for Girls or The Publics? I heard some Scouting for Girls, but I knew I had to see The Publics – an emerging band from Nottingham. The four-piece brought energy, songs to bounce around to and an exciting sound I can’t wait to hear more of in the future. People were singing on shoulders with even a flare. A special mention to the bass player who was clearly having the time of his life dancing around on the stage. Closing the set with ‘Karen’s Song’ a band member got in the crowd getting everyone low ready to jump around, and it was a memorable ending.
Next, as I’ve witnessed many times before, The Clause were wild- memorable song introductions to ‘I don’t care’ and crowd surfing bassist to the ending song ‘In my Element’ – The Clause were definitely in their element and where they belong on festival stages.
All the songs I caught of The Vaccines were reliably faultless – frontman Justin owning the stage. I sandwiched Overpass in-between The Vaccines, they attracted a huge crowd and rightly so, the vocals were impeccable and admirable bass playing from Indie – highlights included ‘Beautiful’ and ‘3am’.
The Kaiser Chiefs then featured on the main stage- but having seen them a few times I am not excited when I see the name on the lineup. Two Door Cinema Club were the perfect headliner with truly enthusiastic crowd – it was a true celebration of the 15 years of Tourist History! It was wild standing next to 17-year-olds who would have been 2 when the album first came out – showing the universalness and agelessness of their music. Every song I sang along to – it was a faultless set one of my favourite bands of the weekend.
SUNDAY:
Sunday started with one of the most unpredictable bands – The Lottery Winners. Thom the frontman was under strict instructions to focus and not overrun on time, they were limited to 30 minutes. It was exciting as they debuted a new song ‘Steady We Go’ and got the crowd truly singing along to the chorus.
The Cheap Thrills was the next band I watched at The Giant Squid. The Liverpool based band played songs that you can’t help but sing along to. The band attracted an even bigger crowd than YNOT 2025. They finished on the banger ‘Codependence’ which really got the crowd singing along with a feeling unity to finish the set.
The mainstage was then bounced all around by the Rizzle Kicks. Growing up, I used to love listening to this duo, so it felt very nostalgic getting ‘down with the trumpets’. They had one of the best crowd interactions over the weekend, making us really feel part of something special. Mosh pits opened and Jordan spotted someone doing a back flip and got him up on stage for the final song!
Keo or Scissor Sisters? I watched all Keo; there is so much hype around this band and after watching them I can understand why. With a highly anticipated upcoming album, if people weren’t already a fan, then they would be after watching the set. The Quarry stage was absolutely packed; a sea of people on shoulders and yellow flares filled the tent. Scissor Sisters were proudly prancing about on the mainstage, now I imagine it would have been incredible but sadly walking in halfway through with the singers constantly changing outfits and a giant boobs on stage it was hard to get in the right head space to enjoy the craziness!
Finally, to finish off the festival was the headliners of the Scottish band The Snuts on the Quarry stage and The Streets on the mainstage. Starting off with watching the whole of The Snuts- a brilliant set with new songs being played from the new album ‘Joy in Short Moments’ which comes out in October. Jack, the lead singer, made jokes about him talking and the audience not understanding his accent, which definitely was an element of truth!
Closing YNOT 2026 was on the mainstage was The Streets. ‘Fit but You Know it’ was played early in the set starting off the audience engagement. Skinner, brought a uniqueness getting the crowd passing around an alien and personalising a bus shelter on stage for YNOT with TONY. Now I have to admit I’m not particularly into The Streets, however it was an enjoyable end to the festival.
2026 YNOT round every corner, on every stage there was something suitable for everyone – whether it was the big names on the main stage, DJs at Club Malibu or even a cinema there was endless entertainment no matter who you were. I cannot wait to see what 2027 YNOT has in store.
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Based in Norwich, Sally Reeder is passionate about all things music and is an aspiring music journalist. You will likely find her at a gig or festival in her free time. Inadvertently, she has the perfect name for the indie, rock and brit-pop scene with countless songs being named after her!
Sally is a graduate from UEA with English Literature BA Hons and Business Marketing and Management MSc. Currently Sally works as a secondary English teacher and her love of words, lyrics and poetry she passes on with enthusiasm to the students she teaches.
