I've been at uni in Derby since last September. There's worse places to go for a night out but it's not the best. After a few weekends it gets quite boring, but pretty close to Nottingham which is an awesome night out. It's around £20/£25 for a taxi so doable if your in a group.
I've not heard of any underground or main stream rave events, probably due to the location of the place but being an old mc, I'd be quite eager to find out myself.
The people are friendly enough, few randoms and quite a lot of homeless people but generally the locals are alright.
A lot of places are a little grim, but there's worse places to live. Hope this helps