Gig review: Little Simz at The Level

As soon as we walked into The Loft – the balcony section of The Level – you could already feel the sense of occasion in the air. The room is already packed with fans who know they are about to witness an artist who sub-headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury last year, now performing in a cosy 1,200 cap venue. The anticipation is palpable but thankfully we’re not kept waiting long as her DJ for the evening, OTG, takes to the stage. “Nottingham how we feeling right now?!” he asks, the crowd erupting with excitement in response.

The excitement is taken to another level (pun intended) as Little Simz takes her place in the centre of the stage, firmly underneath the LED screen that has her name emblazoned across it in luminous pink. There’s no messing around as it’s straight into Introvert, without a doubt one of the finest songs of the decade thus far. Simz gets the crowd bouncing from the get-go, with someone loudly yelling “WE LOVE YOU SIMZ!!” as soon as the track finishes. “And I love you too,” Simz bashfully says in response.

It leads perfectly into another cut from her Mercury Prize-winning album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, as the theme of love continues with Two Worlds Apart. Simz then announces tonight will be a celebration of her new album Lotus, with the artist promising to play “some old and some new” songs. It’s a new one next, as she blazes through fiery recent single Young.

“Did anyone get an album called Grey Area? Can I play some music from that for you guys?” she asks, the crowd loudly screaming and cheering in response. It’s then straight into the feel-good beat of 101 FM, with Simz almost immediately jumping down into the crowd and then spending the duration of the song walking amongst the audience, dancing along with them. It’s an amazing sight, as is watching her rap at hyper speed during the second half of Venom which follows.

After Lotus lead single Flood keeps the crowd moving, Simz gauges the room by asking everyone from the floor to the pit how they’re feeling, before seeing if they’re ready to “crank the energy up”. After more excitable cheers, she jumps into a duo of tracks from her Drop 7 EP, with the tribal rhythms of Mood Swings and SOS getting the whole place jumping.

“Are you warmed up, can we continue this party now?!” she asks, before treating the crowd to new unreleased song, Lion, which sounds fantastic in the live setting. By the end of the song, the crowd are already singing along to the refrain of “We don’t care for what they say / that’s my superpower!” It goes down a storm, with the audience even giving Simz a thunderous mid-show ovation at the song’s climax.

She thanks the audience for paying their “hard earned money to see us”, rewarding them with a joyous rendition of the ultra-catchy Point And Kill. It’s the biggest singalong of the evening, the crowd almost taking the roof off The Level as they belt out every word.

Things are taken down a notch following Free, as the pink “Little Simz” backdrop disappears and almost everything goes dark, except for just a couple of spotlights now lighting the stage. Simz then speaks directly to the creatives in the room, revealing another new song titled Lonely. Emerging out of a difficult period of writer’s block, she dedicates the song to anyone doubting themselves or lacking self-confidence, telling them not to worry as the feeling is “normal”. She sits on the DJ desk to perform the subdued number amidst the darkened stage, creating quite the special moment as everyone looks on and listens, completely entranced.

The stage returns to its previous form with the pink “Little Simz” backdrop, all ready for the final three big hitters of the evening. Selfish is up first which creates another big singalong, before Woman, announced by Simz as “for the girls” in the room, gets the whole crowd chanting “Go Simbi, Go Simbi, Go!”, as she also launches a T-shirt into the audience for everyone to fight over.

“Nottingham thank you so much, you guys have been incredible tonight,” she says, clearly overwhelmed by the reception she’s received this evening. “Can I do one more for you?” she asks with a knowing grin, the audience once again giving a resounding yes. “My album’s out Friday – I hope you like it!” she yells as a parting message, just as the beat for Gorilla arrives. It disappears quickly though; soon, Simz is flawlessly rapping the whole first verse, completely acapella. It’s absolutely dazzling to witness, as she then rewinds the track and starts again, this time with the beat for the whole duration.

As she exits the stage to thunderous applause, it is clear everyone in the room knows they have just witnessed something special tonight. Seeing one of the best artists in the world right now, perform through their enviable catalogue of adored hits, in these fairly intimate surroundings – what a moment. With new album Lotus dropping on Friday and sounding like potentially another masterpiece, there’s really no stopping Little Simz.

Little Simz performed at The Level on 3rd June 2025.