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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…

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...

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...

TV legend Steve Backshall on his upcoming Deadly Live show at Motorpoint Arena

If you've ever wondered what kind of person willingly dives headfirst into crocodile-infested waters, wrestles with giant anacondas, or casually points out how a tarantula could melt your face off — meet Steve Backshall. Adventurer, presenter, author, and all-round animal maniac (the loveable kind),

Steve has spent the last couple of decades getting way too cosy with the kind of animals most of us would sprint away from. We caught up with Steve ahead of his Deadly Live! show at Motorpoint Arena, to find out what thrills and spills audiences can expect from the show, how he handles those hairy moments (literally), and deep dive into some of Steve’s favourite animal experiences.

Live Q&A: Saint Etienne in conversation at Rough Trade

Saint Etienne graced Rough Trade for a Q&A about their final album, International - a release which marks the last chapter in the band's career after 35 years in the industry....

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...

Night Creatures Podcast #1: Felix Coulton (aka OK Flex) on founding Swing Dash Radio and opening Movers in Hockley

Night Creatures is a new LeftLion podcast, shining a light on the promoters of Nottingham. Your host and interviewer is Beane, co-founder of Nottingham’s beloved Soul Buggin’ night and he brings with him over twenty years of experience of putting on great parties in the city...

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...

Lyv Forever: local artist Lyvia talks virality and playing live

While the words ‘street art’ automatically make you think of colourful graffiti, Nottingham musician LYVIA creates hers in a unique and quite literal way. Thanks to a visionary videographer and a lucky twist of fate, her viral performances on the corner of Maid Marian Way have transformed her from ambitious local busker to national soul-rap sensation with a huge social media following. We sat down to get the story behind her rapid rise and her forthcoming new mixtape…

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...

How Hockley venue Movers is redefining nights out

Bringing chilled afternoons of coffee and music that blend into evenings of DJ sets and dancing, Movers is the latest edition to Hockley’s hive of cultural activity. Since opening at the start of July, the multi-use venue has been making waves in the area as the hottest new bar in town. We spoke to director and founder Felix Coulton, also one of the minds behind Notts’ own Swing Dash Radio, to see how it's going so far and what they have coming up...

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... 

Art is the heart: what to expect from year two of Art Fest in Notts

With its first year in 2024 bringing 34 new murals to Nottingham’s streets, Art Fest is back this month to splash more colour and creativity on walls throughout the city. Festival Director Benjamin Kay, who co-runs The Carousel in Hockley, tells us why he set up the festival and what to expect from this year…

In photos: Happy birthday to The Grove!

In just a year, The Grove has become one of Nottingham's success stories: a truly independent, DIY music space with an open, supportive and inclusive ethos. Run by Dan Cunningham and Cam Worne, this is a place of hard work, joy and community. We were there to capture the vibe of their first birthday bash...

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...

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...

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...

Life behind bars: with Robyn Warwick, General Manager at Queen of Hockley

For the first instalment of our recurring feature Life Behind Bars we heard from Robyn Warwick, manager at Queen of Hockley.

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 Interview: Dan Lewis

Steptoe and Son ride again at the Nottingham Arts Theatre. Actor Dan Lewis shares his trip on the rag and bone cart as the curmudgeonly Albert... 

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...

In photos: Vona Vella at The Grove, with Jmaes and Modern Coven

Festival review: LeftLion at Y Not Festival 2025

This year, the turnout for Y Not Festival was unmatched and another big musical step forward for Nottingham artists. Along with huge bands including The Prodigy, Courteeners, Franz Ferdinand, The Last Dinner Party, Sigrid, and Madness, the festival audience from all over the country witnessed many of our own city's top bands in a diverse, friendly and passionately musical environment. LeftLion was there to sample as much of the local action as possible...