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Festival review: Saturday at Splendour 2025 in Wollaton Park

After a year away, the biggest weekend in the Nottingham musical calendar returned – Splendour Festival. With a stellar line-up of indie legends, pop icons, local heroes and the very best emerging talent from the Midlands and beyond, we headed down to Wollaton Hall to catch all the Saturday action…

How the Queer Adventure Collective are connecting the LGBTQ+ community in the great outdoors

As much as we don’t endorse stereotypes at LeftLion, there is something to be said about the correlation between a large proportion of the Queer community, and the outdoors – we bloody love a hike! Queer Adventure Collective (QAC) began in March and is the Midlands’ new (and rapidly growing) LGBTQIA+ group. LeftLion caught up with founder Meg Atkinson, to talk about everything adventure. 

Festival review: Nottingham Chamber Music Festival – Tunnel Vision

The Nottingham Chamber Music Festival is an annual series of concerts put together by a team of dedicated volunteers, bringing classical music artists to some of our city’s most beautiful and historical spaces. For the closing concert of the 2025 edition, the festival worked with the Nottingham Park Residents Association to host string quartet, The Le Page Ensemble, in the stunning surroundings of the Park Tunnel. A special one-of-a-kind concert not to be missed, we went along to experience this cave-dwelling performance first-hand…

Gig review: The Moonlandingz at Rescue Rooms

Described by one of our team as "one of the most bonkers (but enjoyable) gigs I've been to in a long while", The Moonlandingz made a big mark on Nottingham as they arrived at Rescue Rooms for a rescheduled show. Supported by Jeanie & The White Boys (whose lead singer also sang with the headliners), the band delivered a fun, energetic and unapologetically politically incorrect show...

Review: Gate To Southwell Festival's 18th Birthday 2025

The charming Gate To Southwell Festival has become a LeftLion summer favourite: a vibrant, family-friendly event pushing the boundaries of roots and folk music, and only a few miles from Nottingham. We visited the festival's green fields on Saturday to help celebrate its 18th birthday...

Gig review: The Backseat Lovers at Rescue Rooms

After a two-year hiatus, The Backseat Lovers performed a sold-out show at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms where the energy of the crowd proved testament to the impact this four-piece from Utah have had on their devoted fans. We joined the revellers at the packed out venue for a memorable Monday night...

In photos: Vee Adu at The Old Bus Depot, with SUNIQ and Rowan Holly

Festival review: LeftLion at Download Festival 2025

Rock and metal fans from around the world descended again on Donington Park – just a short drive from Nottingham – for the ultimate celebration of rock music. LeftLion's Natalie Owen was right there in the thick of it, soaking up the chaos, the riffs, and the raw energy of Download Festival – a true titan of the UK festival scene. Here's how it went down...

In photos: Bright Eyes at Rock City

LeftLion's Latest Listens #24: Notts music we're currently spinning

In the latest edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens for 2025, our music team reviews new releases from Cappo, Dorothy Ella. GIRLBAND!, The Doctor's Orders Collective and We Are Sovereign...

Gig review: Tim Minchin at the Royal Concert Hall

There are few plaudits that haven’t been thrown Tim Minchin’s way. The wizard of wordsmithery has found his way into every corner of live performance, whether that be composing and writing for award winning musicals, taking to the stage and screen as an actor or touring his own extensive back catalogue of music. Simply put, within the performing arts bubble he’s done it all. And now he's graced the stage of our city's own Royal Concert Hall...

Gig review: Shonen Knife at Rescue Rooms

It was a welcome return to Nottingham for Shonen Knife and their brand of punk rock / rock- and-roll rockabilly, with a coordinated cosmos of colour as always...

Exhibition Review: Country Lives at Lakeside Arts

Over at Lakeside Arts, the current exhibition ‘Country Lives’ explores the use and depiction of the English countryside over the last 200 years. We went down to check it out…

Gig review: Jadu Heart at Rescue Rooms

It’s been a busy year for Jadu Heart. Hot on the heels of the release of their fourth record, and following an extended jaunt across the US with recent Nottingham Arena fillers - and one of the biggest bands in the world right now - Fontaines DC, they find themselves packing out Rescue Rooms as part of their own headline UK tour...

Gig review: BBC Introducing East Midlands Showcase at Metronome

BBC Introducing returned to Nottingham's Metronome with a fresh showcase of local talent, expertly curated by East Midlands legend Dean Jackson. This edition featured SPLIT, Manye Fi, Harry Lyon and Drew Thomas...

Pride celebrations, live music and Craft Beer Festival: Here's what's on in Nottingham 16 - 22 June 2025

This week is a great one for music in Notts, with both Bright Eyes and Patrick Wolf performing in the city. There's also Pride celebrations at Broadway Cinema and the return of the Craft Beer Festival. Here's our top picks...

Gig review: Foxing at Rescue Rooms

Hot off the tails of their fifth self-titled album, which was released late last year, Foxing, the quartet skirting from Missouri, bring their cult-cuts to the East Midlands. They were ably supported by local alt-rock group, Fallowed...

Gig review: AC/DC UK at Rescue Rooms

AC/DC UK kept a packed Rescue Rooms rocking all night long with a thoroughly convincing set featuring many of AC/DC’s greatest anthems, complete with a spectacular exploding cannons finale...

Gig review: The Get Up Kids at Rescue Rooms

The Get Up Kids graced Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms in a flurry of guitars and emotions on Wednesday evening. The room was full to the brim with long term fans, and the air buzzed with excitement...

Words to live by: marking one decade of the Nottingham Poetry Festival with poet Ben Macpherson

This month marks the tenth anniversary of Nottingham Poetry Festival - a kaleidoscopic set of events that sees poetry collide with activities like musical open mics, meditation and arts and crafts, all the while celebrating the art form, and its age-old centrality to the city of Nottingham. To mark the occasion, festival producer and local poet Ben Macpherson told us about the festival’s importance to Nottingham, and what people can expect from this year. 

Gig review: Penfriend at Rough Trade

Laura Kidd, aka Penfriend, returned to the stage for the first time in several years, finding an appreciative audience at Rough Trade. What followed was a very special night...

Gig review: Little Simz at The Level

It’s not every day that genuine rap royalty drops into town. However, with highly anticipated new album Lotus dropping this Friday, the mighty Little Simz rolled into The Level for a Rough Trade outstore show to promote the new project. Armed with a vault of bangers she’s been hoarding, we headed over to The Level for this must-attend show with one of the greatest artists and rappers in the world today…

In photos: MJ Lenderman at Rock City, with Trace Mountains

Gig review: Sunday (1994) at The Bodega

Gig review: Supergrass at Rock City

There were no bands quite like Supergrass, in 1995. At least, not our writer's hazy recollection. They stood out; slightly apart from their contemporaries. Off to the side seemingly having just that little bit more fun than anyone else. On the evidence of this riotous, rollocking show at Rock City, the same is just as true in 2025...