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Gig review: Brooke Combe at Rescue Rooms

Morrissey once quipped "Manchester, so much to answer for…" during the heyday of seminal indie trailblazers, The Smiths. The same could be said of another scene pioneered in the North West: Northern Soul. More than 50 years after sparking into life at its cultural home, the Wigan Casino, thanks to the long lost Tamla Motown and soul tracks unearthed and spun following visits across the pond, the roots of the much-revered movement still spread to this day. Brooke Combe is keeping the trend growing..,

Gig review: Dusty 4 Track album launch at Rough Trade, with RonnieToldUs and Jinda Biant

Rough Trade was host to Dusty 4 Track last weekend as they celebrated the vinyl release of their debut album How Did I Get Here? with support from Jinda Biant and RonnieToldUs. Sophie Gargett went along to check it out...

Night Creatures Podcast #7: Parisa East from Acoustickle on finding a young Jake Bugg, musical collaborations and juggling life as a promoter

Night Creatures is a LeftLion podcast, shining a light on the promoters of Nottingham. Your  host and interviewer is Beane, co-founder of Nottingham’s beloved Soul Buggin’ night and  he brings with him two decades of experience of putting on great parties in the city. 

Review: Dave Rowntree in conversation at Metronome

Spring has sprung and swept into town not one, but two members of much-loved 1990s indie survivors Blur in recent weeks. Following a dazzling appearance by virtuoso frontman Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz at the arena the night the clocks went forward, much-loved drummer Dave Rowntree’s date in our fair city may be far more low-key but is still engaging and enlightening. Here on the latest leg of his Q&A tour to promote his new coffee table-style photographic memoir of the band’s early days, No One You Know, Rowntree spent 90 minutes regaling the audience with the stories behind the celluloid images under the trusty stewardship of BBC Radio Nottingham’s Dean Jackson...

Enthralling theatre and crowd pleasing comedy: Here's what's on in Nottingham this week Monday 13 - Sunday 19 April

The weather's getting warmer, and here in Notts everybody's getting out and enjoying culture, whether as part of some memorable screenings at local cinemas, or some top tier local music. Here's some events which we think you shouldn't miss...

Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature's Youth Advisory Board Celebrate the Launch of their Poetry Pamphlet

Join Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature's Youth Advisory Board as they celebrate the launch of their first poetry pamphlet on the 12th of April

Gig review: RockCorps at Rock City with Tinie Tempah, JayaHadADream and LYVIA

Nottingham RockCorps rocked Rock City on Wednesday night, with unforgettable performances from local stars JayaHadADream and LYVIA. The main headliner was the one and only Tinie Tempah...

New Nottingham Journal Reopens for Submissions

After selling out its debut issue, the New Nottingham Journal – the city’s print literary journal publishing short fiction, slow journalism, poetry and black-and-white art – is preparing its return in 2026.

LeftLion's Latest Listens #43: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Book of Churches, Dusty 4 Track, Firmament and JJ Lovegrove...

Gig review: Idlewild at Rescue Rooms

Nearly 11 years since they last played the venue, beloved Scottish rockers Idlewild returned to Rescue Rooms this week. Bringing with them songs from their 2025 self-titled album along with a stacked catalogue of classics from across their 30+ year existence, they put on one hell of a performance to kick start this short run of UK dates. Here’s what went down…

Catching up with Nottingham poet and cultural historian Panya Banjoko

Panya Banjoko is a Nottingham-born poet and cultural historian and a tour de force in our local literature scene. She’s also the keeper of the Nottingham Black Archive and has been a Patron of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature since it first received the accolade in 2015. We talk to Panya about past and current projects, her new StoryArcs fellowship and why mature ladies get more done…

Theatre Interview: Sam Harry Macgregor actor and writer from Hold The Line at Nottingham Arts Theatre

Hold the Line is a new play coming to the Nottingham Arts Theatre that lifts the lid on life and work at the NHS 111 telephone service. Rising star Sam Harry Macgregor, who wrote and stars in the play, talks to Leftlion about the journey...  

Nadia on... student loans

Labour MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome discusses university loans and student fees...

Blues, dance, and Hong Kong culture: Here's what's on in Nottingham

There's lots of events this week set to spread some strong community spirit and selfless sentiment here in Notts. Here are some of our favourites... 

LeftLion Interviews Podcast #15: Blur’s Dave Rowntree on NASA, Nottingham gigs and his new book of old Blur photos

This episode we are joined by Blur drummer Dave Rowntree who talks about Blur's early years, his memories (or lack of) of their Nottingham appearances, NASA and space and his new photo book No-one You Know'..

Theatre Review: Apple of Discord at The People’s Hall

When gods gather for a wedding, chaos is never far behind. So say Nottingham's theatre company Chronic Insanity in their amazing immersive production entitled Apple of Discord. LeftLion joins the madness..

Rediscovering wild medicines and food with The Nottingham Forager

Nestled in roadside thickets, hidden amongst hedgerows and sprouting from our local playing fields, parks and playgrounds, a world of forgotten foods quietly grow. With shoots spurting from the ground as we move into spring, Sophie Gargett spent some time with Lucy Buckle, aka The Nottingham Forager, to discover more about identifying, picking and eating wild food.

Gig review: Eyre Llew at The Grove, with Ella Clayton

Nottingham’s ambient veterans Eyre Llew gave an assembled crowd at The Grove a taste of a new era. With support from the sublime Ella Clayton, we experienced a magical evening...

Gig review: Gorillaz at Motorpoint Arena

It’s incredible to think that across their 25+ year existence, the world’s most famous animated band – Gorillaz - hadn’t performed in Nottingham until now. However, in support of their highly ambitious and India-inspired new record The Mountain, Damon Albarn brought a huge ensemble along to the Motorpoint Arena to finally right that wrong. Here’s what went down at Gorillaz’s visually epic and guest-filled debut show in Nottingham… 

Gig review: Kofi Stone at Rescue Rooms

Theatre Review: Horrible Histories Live (& Dead): The Concert at the Royal Concert Hall

It may be horrible but still it is a much-beloved children's TV series that educates as much as entertains. And this weekend the horribleness came to Nottingham...

Straight off the top: the Nottingham jam nights where musicians test their skills

Anyone who takes a deeper than average dive into Notts music will probably come across a corner of the scene with a very particular kind of magic – jam sessions – improvisation events where new connections are forged and the music is completely different each time. Acoustickle’s Parisa East and Joe Egan, founder of popular jam Perkalater, talk about why these occasions are valuable. 

Classical Review: The Hallé – Vive la France! at the Royal Concert Hall

Manchester's much beloved orchestra, The Hallé, is a regular visitor to Nottingham. This time with a treat for the francophiles with all things French, n'est-ce pas?

Immersive indie theatre, all day gigs, impactful exhibitions: here's what's on in Nottingham this week 30 March - 5 April

This is a great week in Notts for music and art lovers... check out our top picks.

A semester in Notts: US photographer John Dean's snapshot of Nottingham in the 70s

In the Spring of 1976, a then twenty-year-old photography student named John Dean arrived in Nottingham unaware that he would go on to capture some of the most beautiful, compelling and personal street photographs our city has ever seen. Five decades later, many of those images are being shown for the first time in a new exhibition at Bonington Gallery; A Semester in Nottingham, 1976. 

Ahead of his exhibition, held at the very university that he briefly studied at fifty years ago, Dani Bacon sat down for a transatlantic Teams call (with a questionable signal), to talk to John about his time in Nottingham, his career and why he’s chosen now as the perfect time to unveil his photographs.