11 Things To Do in Nottingham This Week

We’re well into the month of January now, and the resolutions are well under way. Ish. One way you can be wholesome and hobbied is to get involved in the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Photographic Society. In their monthly meetings, you can expect outdoor trips and critique sessions for photographers at all levels, and they’ve recently been hosting talks in The Poppy and Pint. The final three talks take place over the next three months with various speakers, so you can learn a thing or two about the art. This week, you can get some knowledge on digital photographic workflow from Bob Brind-Surch – £2.50 for members, £5 for non-members. After you’ve made a few mates at the talk, you can grab that DSLR you got in your stocking and get snapping them sparrows.
Tuesday 17 January, 7pm, £2.50/£5, The Poppy and Pint, Lady Bay. Event link

If you go down in the woods today, you better be in for a rate good time youth, cos Beauvale Priory are chucking a musical shindig that sounds bleddy awesome. Think candlelight, think log burner, think very late ‘afternoon’ tea, think folk music and lore, and you might just be barking up the right tree. Get yersen down that bumpy dirt track to the ancient ruins of the priory, to the Gatehouse Tea Rooms & Coffee Shop, and listen to the sounds of soul-folky wordsmith Carly Dow, the fiddle-playing Bagthorpe folklorists Hagg Farm Conspiracy, as well as Danish singer and guitar slinger MC Hansen. Perfect for these dark, code nights.
Wednesday 18 January, 7.30pm, £12, Beauvale Priory. Event link

If you enjoy a bit of a wordy scribble, this one might be for you. Victoria Villasenor is a developmental editor at a New York publishing house, who also works on writing projects with marginalized communities throughout the Midlands. This Thursday, though, she’s coming to Waterstone’s on Bridlesmith Gate to kick off a four-week course on short story writing. It’s a bit pricey at 75 squids, but if you’re a serious writer you’ll be sure to benefit from some knowledge about engaging readers and getting your stuff ready for publication. The course sessions will take you through the process of creation, with some right useful tweaks to stash in your tool belt. No brainer, realleh.
Every Thursday from Thursday 19 January, 1pm – 3pm, £75, Waterstone’s. Event link

You might remember Marcus Clarke from our very own print magazine, where the puppet-mad man’s pictures could once be found in our opening pages – he’d snap photos of Nottingham buildings and dress them up with accessories. Yes, he puppetized the city. This month, he’s got an exhibition on at Central Library where Clarke explores his refreshing seaside memories of Sheringham’s NCH Hooks Hill Orphanage and the relationship he has with his conventional family today. The work is full of photographs that have been morphed and decorated with jewels, beads and plastic to create new realities. Make sure you stick your nose in over the next couple of weeks ducky.
Friday 6 – Tuesday 31 February, free, Nottingham Central Library, Angel Row. Event link

If you’re after summat a bit more chilled out, step this way. Acoustickle are renowned in Nottingham for tracking down some of the best musicians going, both locally, nationally, and internationally – some of who you’ll be able to find at The Maze this Friday night, making them good noises with their mouths, all backed by the house band Three Body Trio. Plus, tables will be dressed, with incense, candles and decorations around the room for ultimate vibes. Celebrate beat-making Pete Beardsworth’s birthday alongside Emily Franklin, Kamar, Devante Vaughan, Onkaur, and Chai & Ben Hibbert, all hosted by Jahrel JP. If you gerrabit peckish, there’s hot Jamaican food outside with Michael’s Catering, and even Henna hand painting available. Expect blues, soul, r’n’b, psychedelic beats, and all that jazz. Literally. Ooh, and come prepped for the jam session afterwards if you're a musician. Yeah, it’s one of them.
Friday 20 January, 8pm, £4/£5, The Maze. Event link

Fancy a dose of techno, house, and conversation? Listen up – a new club night concept is hitting Nottingham, all the way from Kreuzberg in Germany. At the city’s rustic and understated Club de Visionaere, there’s a dance floor holding fewer than fifty people, with the music played clearly and quietly. The Waves have teamed up with Rough Trade to deliver an evening inspired by the format, with Trent Bass DJs on hand all night to deliver the goods while your lot either have a good owd chinwag, two-step the night away, or a touch of both. Expect Low Format, LNR, and Jaust from Trent Bass, plus residents Shakfrost, Synapse, and Jacob Gulliver, to drop the bangers.
Friday 20 January, 7pm, free, Rough Trade. Event link

When it comes to drum ‘n’ bass, Nottingham knows what’s cracking off. A brand new night is coming to Market Bar this Friday, so the original ravers can dust off their skanking shoes and get down to it. The first 2Much is set to be a big ‘un, with the award-winning Mr Traumatik coming all the way from sunny Wales to blast everyone’s ear drums off. He’s a bit of a beast, so watch yersen, duck. If that weren’t enough, there’s support from Darkzy, Daseplate, Moze, Roworth, and even a back-to-back set from Capone and J Kingdom. Don’t mind if we bleddy well do.
Friday 20 January, 10pm, £5, Market Bar. Event link

Everyone loves a good owd knees-up, and what better reason to get them knobblies in the sky than a one-year anniversareh? Notts and Derby record label Adorno Records have got themselves a right good set-up down JT Soar, with five whole bands to sing them Happy Birthday. Perhaps not to the original tune, though. Adorno specialise in screamo, emo and DIY punk, so you can expect the likes of Charlotte Light and Dark, Algae Bloom, Yuri, Scared of Everything, and Underdark, to keep your ears suitably quaking. It’s bring your own booze, there’s a strict ‘no dick heads’ rule, and you even get a free tape compilation of the featured bands for the ticket price. Happy birthday indeed.
Saturday 21 January, 6.30pm, £5, JT Soar. Event link

This one’s an artistic workshop for adults – try your hand at reportage drawing with our Carol, who’ll take you around The University of Nottingham museum so you can find the inspiration to create summat with the intention to depict the truth. This can include the atmosphere and emotion of a scene, as well as all the physical objects that exist there. This particular workshop will allow you to create your own set of imagined reportage (documentary) drawing, so make sure you stash plenty of pencils in your pocket for the three-hour session, starting in the Learning Studio.
Saturday 21 January, 11am, £10/£20, Nottingham Lakeside Arts. Event link

Every month, The Lofthouse host an evening of dancing not to be sniffed at – funk, soul, disco, Motown and northern soul are all up for tab grabs, floating around in the Hockley waves. For this one, they’ve got Brave Kids Club down who’ll be selling their pin badges and stickers to support their campaign for women’s rights and gender equality. Have a dance, make a difference. Ooh, and there’ll be the regular appearance of clothing rails from Sue Ryder’s charity shop. All this, under the warm and welcome roof of a proper independent, creative, local space. See you there.
Saturday 21 January, 10pm, £4, The Lofthouse. Event link

When was the last time you went to a proper gig down Rock City basement? Whether you’re an underground dwelling regular or you’re due a serious session, this one’s a certified awesome time. Get your head banging with Patriot Rebel – the rockers from Nottingham are bringing all their hard, alternative goodness to the basement alongside some proper acts. The night will start off with Parasight, then onto Nasty High, Harken, and then the headline act of the evening – Patriot Rebel. And we’ve got IKE Productions to thank for all this. Hold on to your lugholes, your lot.
Saturday 21 January, 6.30pm, £6, Rock City Basement. Event link

For the full motherload of goings-on this week, check out our What's On section