We arrive early Friday as the rain pours at Kendal Calling, quickly getting our act together, our tent's up and we're off. First stop, the original Tim Peaks diner who occupy their usual hut at the top of the festival site. Here we purchase our festival essential – an unlimited supply of Yorkshire Tea.

We settle in to this year's space theme, and head over to hear from Steve Hanley formerly of The Fall, about his new book The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall which was ghost written by Olivia Piekarski. They describe it as the warts and all truth about The Fall whilst being careful of not revealing too much. His story sounds particularly interesting so much so that we feel compelled to pick up a copy of the book.

As the rain continues to pour we find sustenance before checking out the brilliant Norma Jean Martine who takes away the rain and brightens up our day. Her beautiful lyrics fill the air and as the crowds swells, her contemporary pop music cheers us up.

However, we've been given a tip off about a local band playing up at the Woodlands stage, on our way we stumble into the Calling Out tent and catch the latter part of The Ramona Flowers set. Their poppy single ‘Vultures’ is the perfect electro indie that drives the UK indie scene and certainly gets this festival crowd going.

Up in the Woodlands we are just in time for My Little Brother, a band from Carlisle, just thirty minutes from the festival site. They shock us with their brilliant, well-crafted folk-pop and brilliant lyricism that provokes huge grins from the large crowd that's amassed. Songs like ‘If We Never Came Down’ and ‘My Hypocritical Friend’ sound superb and help to keep spirits high despite the grey skies.

We head straight back to Tim Peaks for what has to be one of the highlights of the whole weekend, The Everley Pregnant Brothers. This ukulele orchestra features Pete McKee legendary illustrator and designer of this years limited edition Tim Peaks mug. They're a parody band of epic proportions, today we see them playing 'Common People', 'Creep' 'and No Woman No Cry' with the words substituted for "no oven, no pie."

We then get the opportunity to see Leeds' Dinosaur Pile Up who're as raucous as ever tearing up The House Party tent. A perfect way for us to warm up for the evening's entertainment. The poor weather from earlier seems to be a thing of the past andthe festival is in full swing now.

We take the short walk over to the Calling Out tent to see a band we're particularly fond of, Admiral Fallow. With tracks like ‘Squealing Pigs’ and ‘The Paper Trench’ provoke huge singalongs, there seems to be a particularly passionate crowd, as the front row looks overjoyed, singing back every word.

We headed over to the main stage as we were expecting the hip hop institution that is De La Soul. Unfortunately due to traffic they're 45 minutes late, but when they do turn up, they bring the party. From making the photographers put their cameras down and join the party, to thrilling us with a plethora of hits, the crowd may have booed them before they appeared, but these guys take it all in their stride and it's not long before every person is the crowd is back on side.

As the time of the headliners approaches we find time to fit in some of Catfish and The Bottlemen, it would appear that it's lead singer Van’s birthday and he's clearly overwhelmed by the overflowing Calling Out tent. As the crowd take to singing back every word of 'Pacifier' and the ever popular 'Kathleen'. Our time here is cut short though as we're called back to the main stage for this evenings headliner.

Suede taking to the stage this year seems rather poignant, after all, this year is the 20th anniversary of Brit Pop. Closing out the day on the main stage with a set packed full of hits including ‘Animal Nitrate’ and ‘Trash’ which both feature early on. Brett Anderson, one of the kings of Brit Pop, surveys the Kendal Calling landscape with his subjects bowing at his feet . There really is an unbelievable reaction to the legends.

We split our time between headliners though as we've been looking forward to seeing Jimi Goodwin live because his solo material is truly excellent. His set also provides us with a greatly relaxing end to our first day. At least we thought that this was the end, we head over to our favourite late night eatery Ghandis Flip Flop and take a moment to survey the site, a look which proves beyond any reasonable doubt that this festival is not all about the music. The site is more alive than ever, especially after the main acts have left the stages, with amazing fire displays and late night discos and the Riot Jazz tent that looks like it is just getting started.

However, we're distracted by the noise emanating from the Chai Wallahs tent, wandering up to find the brilliant Mr Scruff. He's just embarking upon one of his mammoth sets but alas, tiredness takes over and we make our way back to our tent having thoroughly enjoyed the first day. Despite the weather, everyone's spirits remain high and so far we're yet to see anyone who's not enjoying themselves.

Photos: Christy Hill

 Arriving at a festival just as it's gone dark isn't the most sensible of ways to begin a weekend in a field, yet that's    the way we chose to begin Y-Not Festival, a small, yet perfectly sized event (though it has downsized from last  year's festival) that takes place atop one of Derbyshire's many hills. Only an hour or so's drive from Manchester,  we didn't bank on getting almost spectacularly lost somewhere on the other side of Buxton, with only sheep to ask  for directions. As such we arrive on site just after 9pm and opt, rather sensibly, to pass on going to see Thursday  night's entertainment Goldie Lookin' Chain and instead just listen whilst setting up our tent behind the main stage.  Hearing the band close with their 'classic' 'Guns Don't Kill People', we decide a fresh head tomorrow is probably  ideal and call it a night.

Morning comes, and so to, in true festival spirit, do the sounds of some middle class hippies filling balloons with laughing gas. Despite a somewhat overcast morning it's reasonably warm and after a couple of drinks we head in to the arena for some food and first band of the day Hey Sholay. Though there's barely a crowd at this time in the morning, the band have an energy and a sound that wouldn't go amiss with some of the bigger names around at the moment. Opening track 'Wishbone' gets a warm reception from some established fans, whilst seeing the modest crowd almost double by its end. For the opening act of the day, and for many, the weekend, Hey Sholay have a penchant for impactive, crowd-pleasing tracks that are inevitably destined for bigger crowds and bigger stages.

A meander across site takes us to Mussel Beach, a cocktail bar filled with deckchairs and bad puns. The cocktails are spot on though, if not a little limited, but they certainly seem to go down well with punters across the weekend.

Time for self-proclaimed gutter rapper Itch now who draws an impressive mid-afternoon crowd over at The Quarry Stage. Renowned for his energy as ex-front-man in The King Blues, on his own it surpasses that, seeing him relish in the room the stage provides. Until he ends up in the heaving mass of bodies stage front, that is, even managing to keep to the beat as he's mobbed. It's an impressive performance again for so early in the day, though a little more of his Manifesto EPs wouldn't have gone amiss.

Back on the Main Stage, Manchester's Sonic Boom Six ply their abrasive blend of ska, hip-hop and anarcho ideology. It's heavy stuff, and not perhaps what some people were expecting given the looks on some faces. Having seen the Boom before however it's par for the course and they manage to get a decent number of people moving before their set ends.

'Banter of the Day' award would probably have to go to Spector however, who tell the crowd they “look a million dollars..Australian dollars” and that this is “the best festival in Derbyshire...well maybe second”. The highlight of the evening however comes as a surprise in the form of Razorlight, whose set is filled with their back catalogue of hits such as 'Golden Touch' and 'In the Morning'. Someone behind me in a lesser band shouts for singer Johnny Borrell to change his clothes, ironic since this guy didn't change his all weekend either. The crowd reaction to Razorlight is probably what's most surprising however, as if they're a band whose popularity never waned. Their set is impressive though, and you can't help but think the crowd might have preferred them as a headliner.

Closing out the Friday are White Lies whose huge sound is big enough to headline most festivals, and are certainly more suitable a headliner than Razorlight would have been, at least in terms of relevancy; it feels somewhat lessened however, by the crowd's earlier response and tracks such as 'Fairwell to the Fairground' and 'To Lose My Life' do go down as well as expected. White Lies sound is sonorous, it's emotive, it's impassioned, but it's not music to party to. And though there are plenty of people here enjoying themselves, you can't help but think that their sound is lost on some of the younger members of the crowd, of which, to Y-Not's credit, there are many, making it a surprisingly family-friendly festival should you wish to bring them.

With that, we call it a night once again, impressed by the quietness of where we're camped and grateful too, of the placing of the “Rock and Roll” camp-site, situated at the back of the site, away from the Family Camping and Glamping sections, and, judging by the look of many a hungover teenager's face the following morning, plenty more people could have done with a quieter night too.

Photo Credit: David Munn

As the manager of the Beatles, Brian Epstein was able to watch a global phenomenon develop from the sidelines. In spite of being close to such celebrity, very little was known about his private life.

In this two man play, put on by Bill Elms & Jen Heyes Productions, the spotlight is centered on Epstein, as opposed to the four famous lads from Liverpool whom he was credited as discovering.

Set in a plush Belgravia bachelor pad, the narrative revolves around Epstein bringing back an aspiring young journalist who is keen to make his mark by revealing the true story about Epstein’s life.

“This Boy,” played by Will Finlanson, is portrayed as one of the many impressionable young boys who would audition for Epstein, in the hope of becoming a star.

The first act focuses significantly on Finlanson’s character, who is primarily used as a narrative device to eek out information from the reclusive Epstein. Whilst Epstein, played by Andrew Lancel, is initially unsure of the motives of the young boy, this changes when he recites a moving piece of prose about seeing The Beatles perform in the Cavern Club. When Finlanson performs the piece its delivery is made more emotive by the stage lighting dimming just to focus on his character.

Epstein is represented as being an outsider and a tortured soul, in spite of the trappings which fame and fortune has brought him. This becomes apparent when Lancel’s character recalls an anecdote from when he was at school and was bullied for being gay and Jewish. In this scene, the audience is invited to suspend their disbelief by Finlanson, still dressed as “This Boy,” being portrayed as a school bully interacting with Epstein.

Other clever narrative devices include the backing of Epstein’s flat turning into a television screen to show an animation of him walking into a concert by the Beatles and discovering them for the first time.

In the second act of the play Epstein’s discovery of the Beatles and his business acumen are put under scrutiny by Finlanson’s character. “This Boy” confronts Epstein by making him aware of the accusations that his discovery of The Beatles is disputed and that he signed them up to a recording contract which resulted in them earning less money than The Rolling Stones, despite selling more records.

Finlanson’s character tries to get Epstein to reveal his true life story, and not the clichés and studied ancedotes which are frequently relayed to the media. However, due to a combination of an intensely private life and an identity intrinsically linked with The Beatles, he is represented as a marginal and tragic figure.

This is given an air of finality when “This Boy,” narrates to the audience that Epstein died within days of him completing his interview at the Beatles manager’s abode.

Tonight feels like a particularly special night, the sun has been beating down upon the banks of the Tyne all day and The Sage, Gateshead is like a greenhouse. We’re in early to take advantage of the air conditioning, and obviously benefit from tonight’s support that takes the form of the Daughters Of Davis. The two sisters sing the sweetest songs, an almost complete contrast to Eels.

They do inject a bit of humility into proceedings, the fact that they live in their van is a good one to start with. Obviously living in rather close quarters with your sibling brings its on dilemmas, however it's nothing a water pistol can’t sort out for these two ladies. A valuable life lesson learnt on our part, and we’ll be rushing out to buy water pistols at the next opportunity.

So having cooled off, we warm back up in the bar before taking our seats and awaiting the arrival of Eels. Looking rather dapper the band take to the stage and open up with new track ‘Where I’m At,’ heading in straight into a cover of ‘When You Wish Upon A Star.’ Setting a rather tepid pace for the beginning of the evening with E taunting the crowd asking if they’re feeling bummed out?

He continues this theme throughout the early part of the set with tracks like ‘Parallels’ and ‘A Line In The Dirt,’ which to be fair, truly is ‘bummer’ rock at its absolute best. Just as we’re feeling pretty bummed out, E turns to the band and asks what day it is, claiming he’s playing a Tuesday show and not a Saturday show.

With that, the band pick the pace up. ‘Fresh Feeling’ provokes a rousing reaction by an incredibly attentive crowd. However, the stand out track comes next in the form of the brilliant ‘I Like Birds’ the crowd yelling "BIRDS" at every opportunity. The previously sedate set, with its interspersed humour, has been truly set alight.  Don’t get us wrong though, we're happy with the bummer rock, but the slightly heavier yet still soft rock is a welcome addition.

‘Mistakes Of My Youth’ is arguably one of the stand out tracks from new LP The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett, and it is met with a well deserved reception. Eels finish where they started with ‘Where I’m Going,’ and as the band attempt to leave the stage, the crowd really do go wild prompting the band to remain and play ‘Fucker’ among others.

Eventually they leave the stage, but by this point the crowd aren’t going anywhere. The band return to the stage more mischievous than ever. Even allowing the infamous ‘Chet guy’ up on stage to meet his idol. The band finally settle to play a cover of Elvis’ ‘I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You,’ a perfect end to what was a beautiful evening.

Tonight was brilliant, the ever eccentric E, thrilled us with his performance. Some may see E’s delivery as somewhat ostentatious, but this evening he looks as if he’s having a truly fantastic time. It may be because the band are running on adrenaline, this being the second to last show of the tour. That said however, they play like its their first.