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Gig review: Atreyu at Rock City

Atreyu are giants of the alternative and emo musical world. Famed for heavy riffs, powerful screaming verse sections and vocally rousing choruses, we caught them at Rock City (rightly described by vocalist Brandon described as a "legendary venue") on the final night of the UK leg of their tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their breakthrough album The Curse, which has recently received a gorgeous re-issue special edition. They were joined by the fantastic acts Zero 9:36 and Eighteen Visions...

Actor Matt Gavan gives the inside scoop on Nottingham Playhouse's new play Eureka Day

Matt Gavan has acted in big hitting films and series like Christopher Robin, Masters of the Air and Pennyworth. But now he is treading the boards in Nottingham Playhouse's new comedy Eureka Day. Leftlion caught up with Matt on day two of rehearsals... 

Gig review: Daudi Matsiko at Metronome

The one-and-only “King of Misery” Daudi Matsiko moved us all with his heartfelt music, latest stories, mental health activism and his award-winning personality during a magical evening at Nottingham’s Metronome…

Driving hope: Renew therapy at Nottingham Women's Centre

Since 1971, Nottingham Women’s Centre has provided a comfortable and supportive space for self-identifying women based in and around Nottingham. Within this time, the centre has been met with many changes and new developments. Among these is Renew: individualised counselling which has been self-funded for the past three years. Today more popular than ever, the team at NWC are keen to give Renew a boost. Kayla Sibanda spoke to Emilly Gill-Howe, Senior Fundraising Officer at NWC, to find out why the service is so important and their upcoming fundraising activities…

Gig review: Ellur at The Bodega, with Fright Years and Cara Flynn

In the middle of a breathless and busy UK tour, Yorkshire-based indie-pop purveyor Ellur stopped off at The Bodega, bringing happiness and a uniquely collective experience. With Fright Years as main support, the night also gave local songwriter Cara Flynn the chance to shine...

Director Eoin McKenzie on masculinity, role models and The Show for Young Men

Glasgow-based theatre producer and director Eoin McKenzie’s The Show for Young Men – a GuestHouse Projects production – which comes to Nottdance in November as part of a national tour, uses dance to explore the friendship between a man and a boy. We chatted to McKenzie, who delves into the creative processes behind The Show for Young Men and shares his thoughts on masculinity and community among men...

In photos: Belly at Rescue Rooms

Gig review: Club Onion 5 at The OId Cold Store

Club Onion is the brainchild of Twisted Onion promoters Steve Solbé and Steve Hardaker. The events bring a mix of live bands, electronic artists and DJs to locations across the UK with the vibe being very much 1988–1992, bringing to mind the Megadog events from back in the day. The fifth Nottingham edition took place at The Old Cold Store...

Hustle Up: Queer Hustle, bands not to miss and what to expect from Hockley Hustle 2025

It’s hard to find a better way to describe Hockley Hustle than by its own succinct label: Nottingham’s arts and music festival. It’s a day of creativity, showcasing the best of our city and at the same time letting us give back to Nottingham – while having loads of fun. We all know the drill by now, but before you start planning your itinerary, why not check out what’s new this year and some of our recommended highlights…

Comedy Review: John Shuttleworth's Raise the Oof at the Nottingham Playhouse

Celebrating forty years in showbiz, John Shuttleworth flew into Nottingham on his Yamaha organ and wowed audiences. But what is an oof? And is it true that there is more to Mr Shuttleworth than his mild-mannered personality suggests...  

Atticus Finch, Sunk and cider: here's what's on in Nottingham this week Monday 5 - Sunday 11 October 2025

October is here! To start the month off, you can find everything in Nottingham from the punk scene to uplifting singing-storytelling, from a stage adaptation of a world-famous American Southern Gothic novel to the annual Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival...

Comedy Review: Mark Steel at the Nottingham Playhouse

BAFTA-nominated Mark Steel, a regular on the nations TV, radio and bookshelves, gives us insight into his journey surviving cancer...

LeftLion Issue #188 October 2025

Featuring Wolf Wytch Apothecary, ghost stories from the National Justice Museum, Hockley Hustle 2025, Sisterhood Photography Collective, Trancesexuals club night, Nottingham Comedy Festival, Nottingham's new nature poet laureate, Primary, the Nottingham Women's Centre, George Gadd, Adam Curtis, and loads more...

Theatre Review: Inspector Morse House of Ghosts at Theatre Royal

The iconic 80s and 90s TV detective is back for a new live theatre mystery involving a delve through his own past and a play-in-a-play plot...

Low Island on new album ‘bird’ and returning to Nottingham for a gig at the Bodega

Low Island haven’t performed in Nottingham since Dot To Dot Festival in 2021, but with the release of their new album bird earlier this year comes a headline show at The Bodega. We catch up with the Oxford DIY, electro-rock outfit to find out what we can expect…

Film review: The Correction Unit

In 1999 we had The Matrix, in 2015 we had Humans (TV series) and now we have The Correction  Unit. Psychiatric ward meets young offender’s institute, with a touch of A.I. thrown in for a contemporary and modern take, this is certainly a glimpse of our future AI prisons, hospitals and rehabilitation centres. Thomas Ince shares his thoughts on this locally made sci-fi thriller…

Gig review: Lewis Capaldi at Motorpoint Arena

After taking some time off to recuperate, Lewis Capaldi is well and truly back. One of the last stops on the UK leg of his huge world tour was at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, where he treated his fans to a confident performance...

Giant Monsters Will Be Returning To Nottingham Rooftops This Halloween

It’s in Nottingham, the city’s Business Improvement District (BID), is bringing back one of the UK’s most unique Halloween celebrations as giant monsters return to Nottingham city centre this October...

Gig review: Crawlers at Rescue Rooms

Never ones to pull punches, alt-rock quartet Crawlers ripped open Nottingham's Rescue Rooms with a cathartic performance, charting love, emotion and free spirit...

Derek Jacobi, dark storytelling, beautiful photography, music, theatre and more: Here's what's on this week: 29 September - 5 October

The nights are rolling in, so time to book in some cosy evenings of storytelling or indulge in some beautiful photography. Here's what's on in Notts this week...

We catch up with local punk outfit Sunk ahead of their gig at The Chapel

Punk is a rather strange genre: it leaks out of the idea of being a music style and instead lives its own existence as a lifestyle, a spirit, one that always exists in every social system in the world, in one form or another. Punk is also deeply intertwined into the music scene of Nottingham. One up-and-coming band, who boast loud, chaotic but intricate and charged live shows, is Sunk. We caught up with them at The Angel on a wet Saturday night, an hour before they took to the stage of The Chapel...

Gig review: PINS at The Bodega

As PINS make their triumphant return to The Bodega, after 10 years away, LeftLion's Kieran Lister immerses himself in their wondrous songs again, and reflects on how much can change in a decade - and how much stays reassuringly the same... 

Gig review: Midnight Rodeo at The Bodega

We recently described Midnight Rodeo as the kind of gang "you’d trust to soundtrack your life, crash your cousin’s wedding, and still make your nan a lovely cuppa the morning after." That said, the prospect of their hotly-anticipated homecoming gig at The Bodega was too much to resist. We headed down to 23 Pelham Street for another quick chat - and an outstanding performance...

Perfect Harmony: talking the power of communal singing with the Nottingham Harmonic Choir

While a couple of decades ago the word choir may have brought to mind stuffy scenes of Sunday’s Songs of Praise, in the past ten years group singing has had quite a reputation change. Not only does group singing increase wellbeing and happiness, it has also been shown to release neurochemicals that aid in pain-relief. With this in mind, as the autumn sets in, Frances Danylec went along to check out the Nottingham Harmonic Choir, and learn about their nearly 170 year history…

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…