Monday 22 August 2016

Y Not Festival.... Day Three!!!

Day three of the festival and the final day! It was a less busy and more chilled out day as there were less bands we wanted to see. I wore a multicoloured crochet dress I got from depop last summer, with a slip underneath. The weather was actually pretty good and we didn't really need wellies but my see through wellies were comfy to wear and as they're short they're more like a boot so were great to wear most days. I wore a fluffy fur pompom headband and some matching turoquise feather earrings. Again I wore my sequin bumbag, definitely a festival fave item of mine and a great item to keep eveything close to me, which is great as I'm always paranoid now after getting my phone stolen at Leed festival last year. Again I went for lots of glitter/gems on my face and Mia did me a fishtail plait which was great to hide my festival bedhead, and I tied it with a cute purple pompom bobble to tie in with the look.



Crochet dress - Depop
Cami dress (underneath) - Primark
Wellies - Primark
Sequin bumbag - Skinnydip London
Pompom headband - Primark
Pompom bobble - New Look
Feather Earrings - Claire's accessories 
Glitter/gems - Ebay
Bindi - Claire's accessories 
Choker - Made by Mia





I dressed Mia in bright clothes of course with some zigzag flares a neon orange cami with cute tassel detail and her wellies, aswell as another fab sequin bumbag I got her in a mermaidy holographic green. I persuaded her to let me do her a little festival make up so did a flower on her cheek in face paint and glitter which looked super cute. She finished off her look with pigtails and a floral cat ear headband.



Zigzag flares - H&M
Top - New Look
Wellies - Ebay
Sequin bumbag - Next
Cat ear headband - Accessorize
Beaded choker - Primark


So after not being too fussed about anyone too early we headed over to the rollerskating rink to cash in our free skate from the day before. Then our first band of the day was 'Vant' at the main stage. I've only recently listened to this band as they were supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen at Castlefield bowl. Unfortunately we were late as usual and didn't manage to catch them there so I was really glad to get to see them. I really enjoyed the set and the songs sounded great live. Definitely one to watch and I'd like to see them again and look forward to more releases.


We then headed over to The Quarry to see 'Vaults' I really like there chilled out vibe and the singers voice is incredible. We then headed over to the main stage to get a good view for 'Sunset Sons'. We managed to get to the front as it wasn't too busy at that point and as they're vibe is quite chilled the crowd weren't too crazy so it was fine to stay there with Mia and she could actually get a decent view for the first time all weekend. They are one of my favourite bands at the moment and as its the first time I've seen them since they released their album it was great to hear the new tracks live and actually know them all. I'm looking forward to seeing them again this week at Leeds and the singer Rory is very easy on the eye so that always makes it a great show!!




After that we had a couple of hours where we weren't too fussed on seeing anyone so we had a wander around the site. We checked out the kids field where there seemed to be some hunt/show going on with all the kids running around with adults in costumes, we were a bit late to the party so didn't join in, but the kids all seemed to be having great fun. There were a few tents with various activities you could do such as making pendants/pots or dream catchers. There was also a stall that did dreadlocks, I did think this was strange for children to have and maybe more for adults but they did also have a hair braid stall which was pretty cool. These were all at an added cost so we didn't do anything as I was quite strapped for cash at this point. We did however play Jenga with the big wooden Jenga set, which kept us entertained for a good while. They also had big space hoppers in there so we had a bounce around. They also had kids only toilets which was a nice idea as sometimes festival toilets can get so vile, so you don't really want your child to have to go in them.




We then went on the Ferris wheel, which actually went pretty fast for a Ferris wheel and it rocked as it went round which was quite scary as it was like a vintage style one so probably quite old. It was nice to get a birds eye view of the site and take a couple of photos from up there.





After that we headed to The Quarry for Lucy Rose, we only caught a little bit of her set then headed over to The Giant Squid for 'Lonely the brave'. I have literally tried to see them so many times in the past but they have either clashed at festivals, we're running late or tickets for their tour sold out before we got to buy them. So it was nice to finally see them as I only managed to catch one song last year at Leeds festival. They did overlap with Blossoms but we did still get to see 30 minutes of the set so didn't miss too much. They were so good, the lead singers voice is just so unique and sounded just as good live as on record.


We headed back over to The Quarry for our band of the day Blossoms! I've been a fan of them for a couple of years now and first seen them in a tiny venue in Nottingham that was the size of someone's living room. So to see them exploding onto the music scene and doing so well is really lovely to see. It does however mean you have to fight your way to get into the tent now. They had a huge rowdy crowd with everyone singing along and jumping up and down. We did eventually manage to squeeze our way in to the tent but kept to the side as I didn't want it getting too crazy for Mia. They played a fabulous set as usual and played a couple of new songs as the album had just came out. I'm so looking forward to seeing them later in the year, definitely a band to check out live if you haven't already.


After that we headed over to the Club Malibu tent for one of our fave Manchester club night 'Crash the wedding's' takeover. It was a great vibe with everyone singing along to cheesy songs and just having a fun time. Mia was flagging by this point and to be honest we were also quite tired, it's harder to stay up as late when you're not drinking all day. It was however nice to not have a hangover every morning and actually remember all the acts!

When crash the wedding was over we headed over to the Y Not sign to try and get a picture with it being lit up in the dark. It didn't actually work so well with or without a flash so we maybe should've took one in the day. But it was still nice to end the festival with a picture with it and to save as a memory for Mia at her first festival. Overall it was a great festival and brilliant for the price and I'd definitely go back again. It was a very different experience taking my daughter but just as enjoyable and I'm glad she enjoyed it as festivals are a big part of my life and something I'd like us to keep doing together. I'd definitely recommend it for families as it was very family friendly and a good size so wasn't too overwhelming for Mia. 



So that's it for my Y Not Festival posts, hope you enjoyed them. I'm off to Leeds festival this week so am super excited for that but also sad it's my final festival of the year, where has this year gone?!!



Wednesday 17 August 2016

Y Not Festival.... Day Two!!!

So day two of Y Not Festival was our busiest day of the weekend with lots more acts to see. It was an 80s theme fancy dress and although we hadn't planned on dressing up our outfits for the day were kind of on theme. Alice and I wore matching rainbow stripe Unitards from Minga London that totally had an 80s vibe. Mr Motivator was doing a morning workout on the main stage, I'm sure he would've approved of the unitards but unfortunately we weren't ready early enough to go and check him out. The sun was out but it was a little chilly so I wore a lace kimono over my untitard. I wore my fave sequin bumbag and my pink light up trainers. I made a rainbow feather and pompom headdress the week before the festival, so teamed it with this look to add a festival vibe to the 80s look. Of course I wore lots of glitter on my face but we also all wore matching floral/glitter face tattoos that I got from Claire's accessories, they were so simple to put on and and I loved the design.







Rainbow Unitard - Minga London
Sequin bumbag - Skinnydip London 
Lace kimono - Primark
Light up trainers - Ebay
Feather/pompom headdress - Made by me
Layered Necklace - Primark
Pompom ring - New Look
Glitter - Ebay
Floral face tattoo - Claire's accessories  



I searched high and low for a matching untitard for Mia but couldn't find one so we made do with a tie dye swimming costume and bright tutu to give her a 80s look. She also wore her light up trainers and sequin bumbag. She wore a Pompom headband and fairy wings, what kid doesn't want to be a fairy! She wasn't as keen to wear lots of glitter after the first day as she didn't like it when she had to take it off, so I kept it subtle with the face tattoo that matched mine and Alice's.



Rainbow swimsuit - Tammy girl
Tutu - Claire's accessories 
Light up trainers - Ebay
Fairy wings - Claire's accessories 
Sequin bumbag - Next
Pompom headband - Primark
Floral face tattoo - Claire's accessories 


As we were actually for ready for a reasonable time we decided to head to the arena earlier to go to 'Bump' the rollerskating disco rink. I thought it was amazing they had a popup rink as I've never seen this at a festival before and it's such a great idea, especially for something to do with kids. I love rollerskating anyway so I was excited to go on, Alice has never really skated so she decided to sit it out after dragging herself around the rink once holding on to side! Mia and I had a good skate around, and it was really fun. It was £5 for a skate for as long as you want, £7 for an all day wristband or £12 for the weekend and as it included skate hire I thought it was quite reasonable. We just went for an all day band as Alice didn't want to skate much. 






The first band we watched were 'Blood Youth' at The Giant Squid stage, they were one of the heavier bands of the weekend and although I'd only recently listened to them I really enjoyed the set. They have a similar sound to 'Beartooth' a band I really like, so I'll definitely be listing to them more and would like to check them out live again. We then headed over to The Quarry for 'Lucy Spraggan' the tent was so busy with people spilling out that we couldn't even get in, so we just listened from the outside. After that it was 'Sundara Karma' again it was really busy so we couldn't see much but did manage to get into the tent. They're a band I've really got into over the last couple of months but it was the first time seeing them, they were really good live. They have such a fun summery sound and had the crowd singing along. I can't wait to see them again next week at Leeds festival. There was also a paint fight going on at the Y Not sign during the day. We didn't fancy getting involved as we didn't want to ruin our outfits or get covered in paint, but I managed to get a snap where you can kind of see the coloured paints/powder in the air, it did look really pretty from afar, and less messy!


We then headed over to the main stage for 'Ratboy' I've seen him a couple of times and loved his set so was really looking forward to seeing him again. He has a great energy running around the stage, he hasn't released many eps yet so I didn't know too many of the tracks but the ones he has got a really great reaction with people singing along. I can't wait for him to release his album which I'm hoping will be in the very near future. 



We then whizzed back over to The Quarry for 'The Sherlocks'. A lot of the bands started as other bands ended so we had to do a lot of running about from stage to stage. As expected the crowd was huge so we didn't have a chance of getting in the tent so we just listened from the outside. I've really liked them since last year and have seen them quite a few times. They always play a great set and the crowd really gets going jumping around. Again I'm awaiting their debut album with baited breath and hope it will be coming very soon. I'm gonna try and catch them again at Leeds if there's no clashes but will also be going to their headline show in Nottingham in September, so hope there's some new tracks released for then. 


Then it was another run back to the main stage for 'Circa Waves' I always love these guys live, their songs are so summery and always get a great singalong. The sun was even out, setting a great scene for our band of the day, well of the weekend 'Catfish and the Bottlemen'. They are literally one of my favourite bands and I always love their live sets. Their songs are amazing and the crowd goes mad for them. It's always such a great atmosphere and everyone just seems to be enjoying themself. With a mix of tracks from the debut and second album it was a great setlist and a huge highlight of the weekend. Mia even tried to have a singalong and a dance, I was glad she enjoyed them as I might've had to disown her if she didn't!



After that we should've gone to see 'Moose Blood' but we are stupid and totally forgot which we were absolutely gutted about when we realised our mistake, fail!! So we ended up finishing the days bands with 'Noel Gallagher's high flying birds'. I have seen Noel a couple of times and sometimes got bored with the set at times, but as it was a shorter set it was actually really good. He played a good mix of his own tracks aswell as Oasis tracks. Obviously the Oasis songs did get the crowd going a lot more with massive singalongs, but the crowd were singing along throughout and I did really enjoy the set. I have seen Oasis before at Heaton park years ago and nothing could top that but it was nice to hear the classic tracks live and they still sounded great!



We had waited all day to light up our trainers as we all had them on, but just our luck by the time we went to turn them on our batteries had run down and only Mia's worked. So we had to get her to dance about and show off her lights in the crowd. We tried to go back to the rollerskating rink as we had only skated once that day but they said it was too late for children to go on, Mia was gutted but her sad little face made them feel sorry for us and they gave us a free skate for the next day so it all ended well. 


We then headed over to one of the shisha cafes for a sit down and ended up playing scrabble, so rock n roll! We were near the Quarry where 'Mike Skinner's' dj set had been moved to so we could hear that, we had a little wander over after but it was so busy and we had a very tired little 10 year old so we headed back to camp and rested our heads ready for the final day!


Day three of the festival will be up shortly!