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LeftLion Interviews Podcast #9 DJ Jonathan on The Palais, the changing art of DJing, Northern Soul, Jazz Funk and Tiswas

Our first podcast of 2025 and we're back with a chinwag with a veteran DJ, talking through the 1970s Nottingham scene at The Palais De Danse, as well as the changing face of music, festivals and more...

Review: Karma Weekender at Saltbox (Friday)

Music festivals don’t have to be stuck in a muddy festival to have connotations of carnage and chaos. This equally applies to all day inner-city ones, as the Karma Weekender at Saltbox proved. Here's what happened on the first day...

Theatre Review: Murder on the Orient Express

A first class murder mystery on the famous steam train

Film Review: La Cocina

Too many cooks spoil the broth in this absurdist depiction of America's service industry and the false promises of the American Dream...

Film Review: One of Them Days

Keke Palmer and SZA are the comical duo we didn’t know we needed. Join us as we review this jam-packed tragicomedy… 

Spring in Your Step: Nottingham’s Best Walks for the Season

Spring's here, though in Nottingham that often means a stand-off between sunshine and drizzle. The sky still carries the pale reluctance of winter. The trees, bare-boned and brittle through the winter months, begin their slow green eruption. But when the daffodils are up and the air smells of wet earth and optimism, there’s no better excuse to lace up your trainers and embrace the outdoors. Nottingham, rich in both greenery and stories, has plenty of spots worth wandering. Here’s where to go when you fancy stretching your legs without running into the masses.

Gig review: Better Joy at The Bodega

Manchester's better joy provided a night of raw emotion, infectious joy, and even a moment of rage, at The Bodega…

Theatre Review: The Paper Cinema at Lakeside Arts

The Paper Cinema’s take on moving pictures dazzles and delights at Lakeside...

Gig review: The Lathums at Rock City

A captivating fusion of indie charm and raw emotion: The Lathums deliver a stellar performance at Rock City that resonates long after the final chord...

LeftLion Issue #182 April 2025

Gig review: ROB.GREEN at Saltbox

We caught Rob Green on the grand opening night of his Jungle Child UK tour. A jaw-dropping show featuring new music, soulful tunes and moving poetry, all the while praising the love for his hometown, Rob continues to prove he is a true Notts showman not to be missed live... 

Theatre Review: Calamity Jane at the Theatre Royal

Gosh almighty! Look what's in from the Windy City. A rootin' tootin' fancy hoedown to have us all a-laughing and a-humming in the aisles... 

Gig review: John Cale at The Playhouse

LeftLion's Ria Serena recently had the enviable pleasure of seeing John Cale live, while he was on the road to promote his latest album, POPtical Illusion. The setlist featured selections from Paris 1919, covers ranging from Elvis to Nico and newer tracks from his latest album. The result? A performance that was nothing short of spectacular...

Gig review: David Gray at the Royal Concert Hall

Gig review: Tunng at Metronome, with Dana Gavanski

2005: The year indie rock peaked. The charts are dominated by Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and, latterly, the rise of Arctic Monkeys. It was also (probably) the last year that the NME could be considered the sole arbiter of one’s music taste. Amongst all of that is the release of a debut album that was incredibly ground-breaking for its time. This is Tunng...

Gig review: The Wombats at Motorpoint Arena, with Everything Everything

Emerging during the mid-00s, Liverpudlian trio The Wombats could have easily fallen into the depths of indie landfill, never to be seen again. But now almost 20 years into their career, they are arguably as strong as they have ever been, having just added sixth studio album Oh! The Ocean to their impressively consistent discography. Now embarking on a massive UK arena tour including the likes of the O2 Arena in London and OVO Hydro in Glasgow, the band swung by Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena to begin their biggest run of shows yet…

Theatre Review: Look After Your Knees at Lakeside Arts

Natalie Bellingham delivers a solo performance celebrating the messy business of life...

Film Review: Black Bag

Your brief if you choose to read it: Join us as we review the new spy thriller with Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett...

Exhibition Review: My Order by Allan Weber

Brazilian multi-disciplinary artist Allan Weber makes his international debut at Nottingham Contemporary with a solo exhibition: My Order, a show exploring the many meanings of the word ‘order’ with its focus spanning orders enforced by police in Rio de Janeiro to orders received by food delivery drivers.

Gig review: Anna Erhard at The Bodega

Gig review: Levellers at the Royal Concert Hall

Gig review: bdrmm at Rescue Rooms

Despite some mishaps, and skirting the borders of the Rescue Rooms curfew, vowel-less shoegaze outfit bdrmm performed an impressive, emotional and transcendent set to a patient Nottingham crowd...

Theatre Review: Three Little Vikings at Lakeside Arts

Three brave little Viking girls save the day in this bold and funny adventure story for little rebels...

Comedy Review: Lou Sanders in No Kissing in the Bingo Hall at the Nottingham Playhouse

Star of Dancing On Ice, a champion of Taskmaster and regular on QI, Lou Sanders brings her unique comedy style to the Nottingham Playhouse...

Gig review: The Bracknall at Rescue Rooms

Essex's finest Britpop revivalists, The Bracknall, arrived at Rescue Rooms in style, performing a beautiful, blissful set drawing heavily from their latest album...