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Review: Karma Weekender at Saltbox (Friday)

Music festivals don’t have to be stuck in a muddy festival to have connotations of carnage and chaos. This equally applies to all day inner-city ones, as the Karma Weekender at Saltbox proved. Here's what happened on the first day...

Spring in Your Step: Nottingham’s Best Walks for the Season

Spring's here, though in Nottingham that often means a stand-off between sunshine and drizzle. The sky still carries the pale reluctance of winter. The trees, bare-boned and brittle through the winter months, begin their slow green eruption. But when the daffodils are up and the air smells of wet earth and optimism, there’s no better excuse to lace up your trainers and embrace the outdoors. Nottingham, rich in both greenery and stories, has plenty of spots worth wandering. Here’s where to go when you fancy stretching your legs without running into the masses.

Gig review: Better Joy at The Bodega

Manchester's better joy provided a night of raw emotion, infectious joy, and even a moment of rage, at The Bodega…

In photos: Vona Vella at The Grove, with Jude Kirk and Plum Jr

Undefeated: Frank Turner talks about his creative processes and affiliation with Nottingham ahead of his Rock City show

There are many ways to describe musician Frank Turner: a songwriting master, a touring machine, a festival season staple. Now back with his latest album, Undefeated, he embarks on the UK leg of his tour this month, with a much-anticipated, sold-out stop at the legendary Rock City. We caught up with him to discuss Undefeated, his affiliation with Nottingham, his creative processes and where he finds his inspirations…

Gig review: The Lathums at Rock City

A captivating fusion of indie charm and raw emotion: The Lathums deliver a stellar performance at Rock City that resonates long after the final chord...

Gig review: ROB.GREEN at Saltbox

We caught Rob Green on the grand opening night of his Jungle Child UK tour. A jaw-dropping show featuring new music, soulful tunes and moving poetry, all the while praising the love for his hometown, Rob continues to prove he is a true Notts showman not to be missed live... 

Gig review: John Cale at The Playhouse

LeftLion's Ria Serena recently had the enviable pleasure of seeing John Cale live, while he was on the road to promote his latest album, POPtical Illusion. The setlist featured selections from Paris 1919, covers ranging from Elvis to Nico and newer tracks from his latest album. The result? A performance that was nothing short of spectacular...

Gig review: David Gray at the Royal Concert Hall

Artworks: Hallo Ceramics talks about their projects, inspirations and making a name in pottery

Popping up at this month’s Ay-Up Market, Heather Kirk of Hallo Ceramics talks us through their journey to becoming a ceramic artist.

Gig review: Tunng at Metronome, with Dana Gavanski

2005: The year indie rock peaked. The charts are dominated by Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and, latterly, the rise of Arctic Monkeys. It was also (probably) the last year that the NME could be considered the sole arbiter of one’s music taste. Amongst all of that is the release of a debut album that was incredibly ground-breaking for its time. This is Tunng...

Musicals, markets, gigs and beer: here's what's on this week in Notts 24 - 30 March 2025

With MOBO tributes and Old Market Square filling up with market stalls, to Calamity Jane stopping at Theatre Royal, there is non-stop entertainment in Nottingham this coming week…

Gig review: Anna Erhard at The Bodega

Gig review: Levellers at the Royal Concert Hall

Gig review: bdrmm at Rescue Rooms

Despite some mishaps, and skirting the borders of the Rescue Rooms curfew, vowel-less shoegaze outfit bdrmm performed an impressive, emotional and transcendent set to a patient Nottingham crowd...

In photos: Mike & The Mechanics at the Royal Concert Hall

In photos: White Denim at Rescue Rooms

Gig review: The Bracknall at Rescue Rooms

Essex's finest Britpop revivalists, The Bracknall, arrived at Rescue Rooms in style, performing a beautiful, blissful set drawing heavily from their latest album...

Gig review: HotWax at Rough Trade

We were all in for a Hot Shock at Rough Trade – with their debut album blistering its way through the charts, HotWax took us on a sonic rollercoaster of noise...

LeftLion's Latest Listens #18: Notts music we're currently spinning

In our latest edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews a selection of recent new releases. This time it's the turn of ROB.GREEN, Dead Mint, Drew Thomas, Sam Oakley and Stuart Pearce...

Gig review: Doves at Rock City, with White Flowers

With frontman Jimi Goodwin only at Rock City 'in spirit', Doves fought on to perform a Nottingham show that proved the resilience and quality of their back catalogue...

Theatre Review: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at Nottingham Arts Theatre

The joyful coming-of-age musical struts into Nottingham Arts Theatre with a bright young cast and plenty of sass

Gig review: Divorce at Rough Trade

Last time Divorce played live in Nottingham they did four consecutive nights at the Bodega. This time around, they’re doing two gigs on the same day, taking place at Rough Trade. We headed down to the first of the shows to hear the band perform in their hometown for the first time since their debut album Drive to Goldenhammer was released to great acclaim…

Gig review: Wille and the Bandits at The Bodega

Wille and the Bandits mesmerised the crowd at The Bodega on Saturday with a stunning display of their unique take on rock music, which is all brought together in a musical tapestry, woven in a way that only this band know how. It's safe to say the show left those who’d ventured out early that evening something to really think about...

Gig review: The Boxer Rebellion at Rescue Rooms

Imagine being featured in Hollywood movies and that is not even the coolest thing about your band! The Boxer Rebellion put on a wonderful, mellow performance at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms and made a packed out venue feel like an intimate show with their heart-warming and rousing tracks...