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Living Sobar: Friar Lane's Café Sobar talk redefining recovery

Founded back in 2014 by local addiction recovery charity Double Impact, Café Sobar has become a beacon for change for many in Notts. Providing people in recovery a space for growth via meetings, volunteering and work opportunities, the venue team is ever-ambitious to redefine recovery through a unique, community driven approach. We met team-members Char Ogley and Pete Grimes to find out how, ten years on, the venue’s mission has evolved. 

Gig review: High Vis at Rescue Rooms

Following on from their third studio album Guided Tour, which was well-received by fans and critics alike, High Vis threw down a marker at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms. Arguably one of the most enigmatic hardcore punk/rock groups on the live circuit at the moment, the second date on their tour saw the rock five-piece hit the East Midlands with a headline show too hard to forget...

Gig review: Inhaler at Rock City

Inhaler are doing things big. This month, they embarked on their biggest-ever UK tour, covering eight cities. This followed four weeks in the US, and preceded 15 dates in Europe and a trip to Asia. We caught up with them at Rock City, where they played an enthralling 18-song set...

LeftLion's Latest Listens #15: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Confyde, Idolvein, Cara Flynn, Marseille and ALT BLK ERA...

Gig review: Girl Scout at The Bodega, with Penny Moon

Sweden's Girl Scout delivered a highlight set at The Bodega during 2024's Dot To Dot Festival. Returning to the same stage less than a year later to deliver a blazing headline set, the band were welcomed warmly by an appreciative crowd, and supported deftly by local group Penny Moon...

In photos: Juga Naut at Peggy's Skylight

Gig review: Our Girl at The Bodega, with Davoli

Our Girl were warmly welcomed back to Nottingham and The Bodega as they celebrated the release of their latest album The Good Kind, proving their ability to uplift and excite...

Gig review: Olly Alexander at Rough Trade

As he moves on from his time with Years & Years and puts his Eurovision experience behind him, Olly Alexander is finding his true voice. In the up-close-and-personal setting of Rough Trade Nottingham, there was a sense of a pivotal moment for the talented singer-songwriter...

Gig review: Peggy's Spotlight at Peggy's Skylight

Peggy’s Skylight once again proved its place as a cornerstone of Nottingham’s jazz scene with its latest edition of the Peggy’s Spotlight showcase. The event's mission is to shine a light on homegrown talent giving them a chance to shine on a stage that feels like home...

Gig review: Dekker & Daudi Matsiko at The Bodega

Notts based, ever-minimalist singer-songwriters Daudi Matsiko and Dekker headlined a night of dreamy and introspective folk at The Bodega, with support arriving from local Chloe Rogers...

Gig review: Madina Lake at Rescue Rooms

As February deepened and winter proved to be a stubborn companion, Madina Lake took to the stage at Rescue Rooms, delivering an unforgettable  performance that transported fans straight back to the golden era of 2000s alternative rock…

Musical comedy, Craig David, Festival of Science, and film screenings: Here's what's on this week 10-16 February 2025

This week in Nottingham! Head out with the family to the Festival of Science and Curiosity or the Sooty Show, go retro with Craig David and Lemar, check out some musical comedy or get into some thought-provoking film... 

Notts actress Aisling Loftus talks about her one-woman play Girls and Boys currently at Nottingham Playhouse

Nottingham’s own Aisling Loftus comes to Nottingham Playhouse with one-woman play Girls and Boys, an award-winning depiction of how love can go badly wrong. She shares her journey with LeftLion…

Gig review: Wet Wet Wet at the Theatre Royal

Wet Wet Wet appeared at the Nottingham Theatre Royal, on a cold Monday night at the beginning of February - but this would not put off the near capacity audience who arrived in the mood to party...

Boxing’s Backbone: Dalton Smith vs Walid Ouizza - the domestic scene must thrive beyond Riyadh season

What did Motorpoint Arena Nottingham and Las Vegas have in common in January? Well, both played host to Matchroom Boxing’s ground-breaking ‘Two shows. One night'; a twelve-hour display of championship boxing, involving some of Eddie Hearn’s biggest talents. Who’d have thought ‘ay, Vegas - the fighting capital of the world - and little old Notts’. 

Gig review: Du Blonde at The Bodega, with bigfatbig

A decade since their last visit to The Bodega, an awful lot has changed for Beth Jeans Houghton (Du Blonde). With the multi-talented Geordie artist now managing and releasing music under their own label Daemon TV, it was this DIY spirit that drove well-received fourth album, Sniff More Gritty, released in November last year. Returning to Nottingham with that album in tow, we went along to check out Beth’s sold-out show and their first one in the city since 2015…

Gig review: Origami Angel at Rescue Rooms

Swapping Washington, DC for Nottingham, Origami Angel began their UK tour in style. Rescue Rooms became a place of escape, where the music could speak for itself...

Gig review: ALT BLK ERA at Saltbox

ALT BLK ERA are Nottingham’s alternative crown jewels, made up of sisters Nyrobi and Chaya, who both provide lush and powerful vocals, along with their instrumental backbone of Sam on drums and Alex on guitar. Hot on the heels of the release of their debut album, the incredible Rave Immortal, we went down to Saltbox for their sold-out launch party...

Nottingham Counselling Service talk tackling loneliness through community

Frances Danylec talks to Shoana Qureshi-Khan of NCS about community and loneliness...

Gig review: Wolvencrown at Rough Trade

Atmospheric black metal band Wolvencrown have a lot to celebrate, with the release of their second album and a decade of experience on the local scene. They chose Rough Trade as the venue for a spectacular show...

Gig review: Blue Violet at Rough Trade

As a winter storm raged outside, Blue Violet kept us warm at Rough Trade with a sultry, stripped-back show to launch their sophomore album...

In photos: Lambrini Girls at Rough Trade Nottingham

Gig review: The L1nKn P4rk Experience at SaltBox

On Saturday, The L1nKn P4rk Experience arrived at Saltbox in Nottingham to grace us with their amazing tribute act to the legendary rock band Linkin Park…

Our January cover artist Paula Reid talks creative community and her love of Brutalism

This month’s cover artist Paula Reid tells us about her inspirations, projects and love of Brutalism…

How the Nottingham Gig Buddies community is uniting music lovers

Starting in 2009, and now with nearly 6,000 members to its name, the meetup.com social group Nottingham Gig Buddies (NGB) has been a life changer for many, bringing together people from many different backgrounds, ages, interests, through their passion for music. To understand the success behind the growth of this group, we got to know the people behind it.