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Carnival themed bingo, West End rock n roll and the Comedy Festival: here's what's on this week 27 October-2 November 2025

If you fancy starting Halloween off with clowns and digits or perhaps you're in the mood for some punk rock tickets, we've got you covered! Themed bingo or concert what will you choose, either way there's most definitely something for you.

Gig review: Sigrid at Metronome

On the first properly chilly night this autumn, Sigrid breezed into town with Nordic flair. Only a few hours before the release of her third studio album, There’s Always More That I Could Say, the Norwegian pop singer-songwriter appeared at the incredibly intimate setting of Metronome... 

LeftLion's Latest Listens #34: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this week's edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from flöat, The Missing Diamonds, Emily Sanders, Di$mal and Lucy Crisp...

Gig review: Somebody’s Child at Rescue Rooms, with better joy

With barely a moment to breathe, the Somebody's Child tour pushed on through Nottingham this week. The Irish five-piece are riding a rising wave of success following the release of their exuberant album earlier this year. Accompanied by the brilliantly chosen better joy as tour support, the musicians crafted another memorable evening at Rescue Rooms...

Gig review: The Last Dinner Party at The Level

Nottingham's Shakespeare Street is lined with hundreds of people dressed in long skirts, corsets and Victorian-esque clothing. Some wear hoodies with red embroidered writing that says From The Pyre. We know we're in the right place: The Level, where the incredible The Last Dinner Party are performing their latest album, released only a few days before...

Concert review: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Michael Seal at the Royal Concert Hall

Conducted with an unshowy economy by Michael Seal, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra led an appreciative Nottingham audience through a musical exploration of spaces both literal and liminal, and probed the interrelationship of things within those spaces...

Gig review: Reef at Rock City

Anyone who managed to place their hands on tickets for the Reef gig at Rock City knew they were in for a good night of music as the band played the entirety of their 1995 debut album in its 30th anniversary year....

Gig review: Circle of Light at Fisher Gate Point

Circle of Light celebrated the release of their new album, COL 6, at Fisher Gate Point to coincide with World Mental Health Day 2025...

Gig review: Busted vs McFly at Motorpoint Arena

It’s not often you get to see two of Britain’s biggest pop-rock exports of the 2000s go head-to-head on one stage, but Busted vs McFly proved exactly why both bands still command such massive affection decades later...

Gig review: George Gadd + The Aftermath at The Bodega

Where better for George Gadd and his band to host a homecoming show (and launch a new album) than The Bodega? We joined the sold out show and discovered warmth, music and plenty of vinyl...

Gig review: The Wedding Present at Rock City

Dance Review: Northern Ballet - Merlin at the Theatre Royal

If you have a thing for modern musical theatre and have never been to a ballet, this might just be your gateway drug.

Gig review: The Rock Orchestra - The Arena of Fire - at Motorpoint Arena

Stereotypically, orchestras play classical music. The two go hand in hand. It’s a natural combination. However, one collective of musicians are trying, and succeeding, to prove this wrong. They are The Rock Orchestra, and they perform orchestral arrangements of hugely popular rock and metal songs to huge audiences globally, alongside three incredible main vocalists, some insanely good fire dancers, and huge, gothic-inspired stage pieces. The combination of all these elements makes them extremely popular amongst concert-goers, and they are truly a treat to watch and hear. We caught them at Motorpoint Arena for their Arena of Fire production, their biggest and boldest show yet...

Gig review: The Boomtown Rats at the Royal Concert Hall

The Boomtown Rats demonstrated they are still very much a force to be reckoned with in today’s music scene with a powerful performance at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall - the opening date of the band's 50th birthday tour...

Gig review: Welly at The Bodega

Last week, Welly returned to The Bodega with more banging tunes, bigger moshpits and a sky full of bubbles. Walking out to the tune of The Macarena, Welly promises a night defined by character and charisma, with songs charged with social commentary to a soundtrack that inspired endless moshpits...

Theatre Review: Sealskin at Lakeside Arts

A spellbinding tale of selkies comes to Lakeside Arts... 

Gig review: Allo Darlin' at The Old Cold Store

A reunion of many, with the moon looking down on it all... LeftLion's Michael Prince found himself in awe and happiness as he witnessed the long-overdue return of indie-pop band Allo Darlin'...

Gig review: Goldie Lookin Chain at Metronome

In 2004 Goldie Lookin Chain burst onto the music scene with their top three single Guns Don’t Kill People Rappers Do, quickly followed by a top five album Greatest Hits. There had been nothing like them before, and it could be said that GLC did for rap what the Macc Lads did for Rock. The lyrics are funny, often explicit and satirise hip hop culture with a heavy emphasis of growing up and living in Wales, and specifically the town of Newport. While the group have not enjoyed the same chart success, they continue to regularly release albums and have a large and loyal following, many of whom turn up to gigs in dodgy shell suits and chunky gold chains. It is the live experience where GLC truly shine and tonight’s gig at Metronome was a sell out...

Left Stag: October 2025 - A Love Letter to Proper Footy

Our man in Mansfield Josh Osoro Pickering is back from an away trip to Port Vale where he was very happy to partake in their local delicacy of Oatcakes...

LeftLion's Latest Listens #33: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Bored Marsh, George Gadd + The Aftermath, Molly Godber and The Red Line...

Theatre Review: The Revlon Girl at the Lace Market Theatre

You couldn't make it up with lipstick replacing grief in this production at the Lace Market Theatre....

Theatre Review: To Kill a Mockingbird at Nottingham Playhouse

What an exciting prospect it is to watch a classic play adapted by a true Hollywood legend of screenwriting - Aaron Sorkin. He’s no stranger to this genre of busy courtrooms, channelling his signature style of fast-talking characters into a modern and energetic adaptation... 

LeftLion Interviews Podcast #14: Artist, Performer and Filmmaker Hetain Patel on Inspiration, Superheroes, Nationalism and Nottdance

This episode we are joined by artist, performer, filmmaker, sculptor and general arts polymath Hetain Patel to talk about his time in Notts, his work, superheroes, nationalism and quite a lot more...

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...

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…