Site search

Theatre review: FRIENDS! The Musical Parody at Theatre Royal Nottingham

Could we BE anymore excited about this musical? All the feel-good moments of the hit 90s sitcom Friends was brought to life on stage at Theatre Royal this week…

Gig review: Lola Young at The Level

From starting her career at the age of just 16 to having one of the biggest No.1 singles of 2025 with TikTok anthem Messy, Lola Young’s musical talent truly knows no bounds. Capitalising on her current wave of incredible momentum, her new album I’m Only F**king Myself is out this week, and fans in Nottingham were some of the first anywhere in the world to hear these new songs live for the first time. The big question heading in though, with the album coming so soon after 2024’s This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway: is I’m Only F**king Myself shaping up to be another 10/10 pop record or just a cynical quick cash-in by Lola’s label? We headed down to her album launch show at The Level to investigate…

Nadia on… the curriculum review

In this month's column, Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome talks about the government's review on the national curriculum.

Gig review: Black Country, New Road at Rock City

Black Country, New Road's Forever Howlong tour kicked off at Rock City for what was - shockingly - the first headline gig for the band in the city. One of the best exports from The Windmill Brixton scene proved once again why they’re worth the hype...

Comedy Review: Nightmare! Nightmare! Kill! Kill! at the Lord Roberts

Benthic Zone and Doxxie Phisher are back and with a UFO theme. Will the audience be probed?  

Theatre Review: The Last Stand Of Mary Whitehouse at the Nottingham Playhouse

Today's youth might think Mary Whitehouse was some cartoonish figure-of-fun. A prude and a bigot, leftover from the Victorian era. Not at all. Known as the most dangerous woman in England at the time, she wreaked havoc. The Playhouse's brand new play shares the horror...  

Gig review: Sancho Panza at The Bodega

On Saturday, The Bodega set the stage for a funk-soaked evening in celebration of Sancho Panza's latest single, Your place or mine?. Headlining the night, the band delivered a performance that felt like a milestone moment for Nottingham’s live music scene. Supported by two other local bands, Stone Black Witches and Soft Serve, the lineup showcased our city’s thriving wave of talent. And of course, LeftLion was there too...

Theatre Review: Blood Brothers at the Theatre Royal

Gig review: GANS at The Bodega, with Hungry

Brum two-piece GANS  are quickly finding themselves in quite the spotlight. Despite only forming in 2023, guitarist Thomas Rhodes and drummer Euan Woodman have already got a discography that borrows from industrial rock, alternative and techno to create massive sounds. LeftLion headed down to The Bodega to find out exactly what the fuss was all about...

Theatre review: Momentos de la Vida at Squire Performing Arts Centre

The Robin Hood Improv Festival is in full swing in Notts. Our reviewer Sam Harvey went along to check out Momentos de la Vida, a deceptively simple concept inspired by black-and-white photography...

Stage Review: Matthew Bourne's The Midnight Bell at the Theatre Royal

An intoxicating cinematic escape to 1930s Soho...

Gig review: CMAT at Rough Trade

While her star may be shining a little brighter in 2025 thanks to a standout Glastonbury performance and breakout TikTok hit Take A Sexy Picture of Me, Irish singer-songwriter CMAT has long been one of the best artists to come out of the 2020s thus far. Following her highly-acclaimed first two albums and a reputation for captivating live performances, her new album EURO-COUNTRY looks set to turn her from underrated gem into a bonafide global superstar. With her record store tour stopping by Rough Trade a day after the album's release, we knew we had to go along and catch one of her two performances in this intimate setting.…

Gig review: The Hives at Rock City

The Hives are survivors. Having broken through at the vanguard of the garage rock scene of the early 00s, they cemented themselves early as one of the wildest, most exciting propositions in live music. Through classics such as Hate to Say I Told You So, Walk Idiot Walk and Tick Tick Boom, the band have become a beloved fixture in the landscape, carving out their niche and weathering the changing musical tides even as their peers fell away... 

Festival review: Foolhardy Folk Festival 2025

Gig review: Luke Haines & Peter Buck at Metronome

Intrigued by the prospect of witnessing former R.E.M member Peter Buck and  Auteurs frontman Luke Haines performing on the same stage, we hurried down to Metronome for what turned out to be a unique, sometimes surreal, and always captivating evening...

Theatre Review: The Business of Murder at the Theatre Royal

What do a policeman and a playwright have in common? Unspeakable crime, as it happens. Twist and double twist await the audience in this nail-bitingly tense thriller...

Gig review: Nieve Ella at The Bodega

Between appearances at Leeds and Reading, Nieve Ella took the opportunity to engage with her fans in Nottingham with a headline show at The Bodega. Those fans responded big time, filling the sold-out venue with noisy adoration...

LeftLion's Latest Listens #30: Notts music we're currently spinning

We've reached the thirtieth edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens! This week, our music team reviews new releases from katie., Lucas, MCØ and Bradley McKnight...

Gig review: Nell Mescal at The Bodega

The final night of Nell Mescal’s run of shows brought her to Nottingham’s Bodega, an intimate venue which was buzzing with anticipation. A loyal crowd - some of whom had attended multiple dates - packed into the venue to witness a set that blended fan favourites with rarities and unreleased tracks, making the night feel especially personal...

Gig review: Black Honey at Rescue Rooms (Rough Trade outstore)

Brighton indie-rockers Black Honey have been described as masters of escapism, but on the stage at Rescue Rooms they welcome all-comers into a cinematic world. As lead singer Izzy Phillips morphs from persona to persona, the evening becomes a rapturous, inclusive celebration...

Gig review: Keane Baldwin at The Bodega, with EMiDORA

Keane Baldwin is a brilliant pianist and vocalist hailing from Heanor, one who mixes the sensibilities of older pop with modern, emotional songwriting talent. LeftLion's Thomas Gensler went down to his headline show at The Bodega to watch...

Theatre Review: Fiddler on the Roof

A new production of this beloved musical comes to Nottingham. Leftlion went for the songs and stayed for the message...

Theatre Review: Deathtrap

Classic Broadway black comedy from the Thriller Season crew

Gig review: Arab Strap at Rescue Rooms, with Stuart Pearce

Arab Strap are the Scottish indie rockers who time forgot. Formed in sometime in the mid-1990s, reformed in 2016 after a 10-year hiatus, and intermittently but definitively performing music ever since, they had not appeared in Nottingham for almost two decades. That changed this month, and LeftLion's Michael Prince was on hand to document the show...

Gig review: Wet Leg at The Level

Having released their second album, moisturiser, Wet Leg have found a new image and buckets of new energy. We dropped in on their gig at The Level to discover a band who are at their most confident, and having more fun than ever...