There's more content than you would believe. Hopefully this will make finding it a bit easier...
We speak to this year's eight Future Sound of Nottingham finalists
Fri 04 Jul 2025The Future Sound of Nottingham returns to the Rock City main stage this Sunday 6th July. Eight Nottingham artists, living their dream and playing the most iconic stage in the city... plus there are two slots on the Splendour Festival main stage up for grabs! We had a chinwag with the eight finalists so you can get to know them a little better. Read on to hear from No Cash Refunds, Emily Alice, Megs, Molly in the Metro, Louie Walsh, Benji Romeo, Archy & The Astronauts and Saffron Gray...
We chat to Set In Motion about what drives them, Splendour Festival, and their playlists...
Fri 04 Jul 2025Set in Motion are one of the Nottingham music scene’s most promising bands. Noted for catchy indie hooks, powerful songs and incredible live performances, over the last two years they’ve made a name for themselves as a guitar music powerhouse act. We caught up with vocalist and guitarist Alfie Wallace, guitarist Dillan Telford, bassist Niall Hopkins and drummer Joe Carnell - outside the Fox and Grapes - to discuss their imminent Splendour Festival set, their future plans and what they’re listening to at the minute...
Gig review and interview: Loren Kramar supports Father John Misty at Rock City
Fri 27 Jun 2025We caught with up with American singer-songwriter Loren Kramar ahead of his Rock City show supporting the legendary Father John Misty...
Theatre Interview: The Nottingham Drag Pageant Contestants
Sun 22 Jun 2025Meet the competitors in the Nottingham Drag Pageant 2025. Queens and kings slug it out in a feast of jaw-dropping costumes and laugh out loud humour. But there can only be one and who will win the coveted crown...?
Stage Interview: Rosie Hollingsworth from Sugar Theatre
Wed 11 Jun 2025The Playhouse's AMPLIFY SEASONS is an opportunity for new talent to break through. And breaking through this summer is Rosie Hollingsworth, playwright and founder of Sugar Theatre. But as Rosie shares below, the journey has been anything but sweet...
LeftLion Interviews Podcast #11 LaQuarn Lewis on BBC mini series What It Feels Like For A Girl, Television Workshop, and LGBTQ+ Notts
Fri 06 Jun 2025Notts born actor LaQuarn Lewis is one of the stars of a new BBC mini-series, What It Feels Like For A Girl, which tells the story of Byron, a Queer teen who is desperate to escape the confines of Hucknall. We caught up with LaQuarn on the podcast to chat about the show, his time at Television Workshop and growing up Queer in Notts...
We chat to Davoli about music, life and Dot To Dot
Fri 23 May 2025Dot To Dot Festival is almost upon us! One of the hundreds of musicians performing at the day-long musical extravaganza is local artist Davoli. We spoke to him about his brand new EP, his inspirations, and what DTD means to him...
Crowned in Sound: Talking memorable interviews, The Chameleon and Billy Bootleggers with music journo Dom Gourlay
Tue 13 May 2025Growing up in Mansfield, Dom Gourlay didn’t realise he’d later become one of the country’s top music journalists. We grabbed a long overdue coffee with Dom, currently the Festivals and Live Reviews Editor for Under the Radar.
LeftLion Interviews Podcast #10: Comedian Matt Forde on His Early Life In Notts, Kier Starmer, Spitting Image, Forest, Cancer and The End of An Era Tour
Fri 09 May 2025Originally from Lenton, Matt Forde is a comedian, TV and radio presenter, writer, impressionist and quite a lot more. He’s perhaps best known for his podcast The Political Party, but he's also a regular face on TV and currently on his End of An Era Tour...
War Horse: an interview with actor Damian Lynch
Thu 08 May 2025Damian Lynch is a British actor and voiceover artist, currently starring in War Horse at the Royal Concert Hall. Emma Hornsby spoke to Damian to get a glimpse behind the scenes of this momentous and memorable theatre production.
We catch up with Moonlit, winner of the 2025 Ultimate Battle of the Bands competition
Wed 30 Apr 2025Following their triumph at the Ultimate Battle of the Bands this year, and ahead of their Rough Trade appearance, we caught up with all six members of Moonlit to find out what the win meant to them, how they feel about playing Splendour Festival, and what else is on the horizon for them as a band…
Interview: The Northern Rascals present Sunny Side at Lakeside Arts
Thu 17 Apr 2025Northern Rascals are bringing their dance drama Sunny Side to Nottingham, a painfully honest account of male mental wellness, or the lack if it. Founders Anna Holmes and Sam Ford talk to Left Lion about their work championing those outside the mainstream...
Nottingham author Dr Paul Crawford is back with a new mystery novel, The Wonders of Doctor Bent
Mon 14 Apr 2025Professor of Health Humanities at the University of Nottingham, Dr Paul Crawford is back with a new mystery novel, The Wonders of Doctor Bent. Aurora Amaryllis speaks to Paul about how his passion for creative writing converges with his experience researching institutional mental health.
We speak to Alabama 3 about nicknames, The Sopranos theme song, and keeping it very real
Sat 12 Apr 2025Our writer Ria was thrilled - and a little nervous - to speak with Alabama 3 frontman Rob Spragg following the band's triumphant Rescue Rooms show. But nerves were quickly put aside as the conversation turned to nicknames, storytelling and The Sopranos...
Gig review and interview: Pale Blue Eyes at The Bodega
Thu 10 Apr 2025Following the release of their third album New Place, Pale Blue Eyes have been bringing their new record, carefree charm and hypnotic energy to the stage. The innovative Totnes-Sheffield shoegaze trio have travelled far and wide, and we were lucky to be graced with their surreal presence yet again at The Bodega in Nottingham, and have the chance to chat to the band, too...
We chat to Cliffords ahead of their Bodega headline show
Tue 08 Apr 2025In this part of the world, it feels as if Cork five-piece Cliffords have come out of nowhere. They broke through onto the scene with their EP Strawberry Scented followed up by the powerhouse single Bittersweet, packed with a gorgeous blend of melody and layered guitars, shoegaze and grunge influences abounding. But as LeftLion found out when chatting with vocalist Iona Lynch, the band have a rich history…
LeftLion Interviews Podcast #9 DJ Jonathan on The Palais, the changing art of DJing, Northern Soul, Jazz Funk and Tiswas
Fri 04 Apr 2025Our 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...
Interview : Sam Lupton and Tom Major the stars of Only Fools and Horses at the Royal Concert Hall
Thu 03 Apr 2025Only Fools and Horses has to be one of the UK's most popular sitcoms ever. And now the musical revamp is coming to Nottingham. Leftlion chats with Sam Lupton and Tom Major as they become the new Del Boy and Rodney...
We chat with Annie Dressner about touring, writing - and speaking up
Sat 22 Mar 2025Annie Dressner’s latest single, For The Thrill Of It, was released in February. Influenced by her experiences, it addresses misogyny and inappropriate behaviour towards women in the music industry. The New Yorker has been based in Cambridge for the last 13 years after meeting her partner at an open mic night. She recently made a stop in Nottingham as part of a tour supporting Danny & The Champions of The World...
Exhibition Review: My Order by Allan Weber
Thu 20 Mar 2025Brazilian 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.
Beeston’s Lady Plaques: an interview with Tamar Feast
Tue 18 Mar 2025Since 2009, the Beeston and District Civic Society has installed 35 plaques to commemorate figures who are important to the local area. Despite this large number, every single one of these plaques honored a man. In January, this tradition was broken when the first ever plaque honoring a woman was unveiled. We spoke to Tamar Feast to find out the origins of the Beeston’s Lady Plaques initiative and what this could mean for the way we understand and commemorate historical figures in the future.
We chat to Better Joy about her EP, embracing vulnerability and touring the UK
Thu 13 Mar 2025With her debut EP heading into blue out soon, Better Joy (Bria Keely) takes listeners on a journey from the deeply personal waiting on time to the intimate reflection of quiet thing, balancing raw emotion with uplifting melodies. Working alongside legendary producer Mike Hedges, she’s crafted a sound that’s both nostalgic and refreshingly new. As she prepares for her first headline UK tour, including a date at The Bodega in Nottingham, Bria shares insights into her artistic evolution, the magic of live performance, and what’s next on her musical horizon…
We chat with Rob Green about music, musicals, and the value of the grassroots
Fri 07 Mar 2025Uplifting alt soul-pop Notts sensation Rob.Green is back and has dialled everything to the absolute max - bringing the emotion, fierce hyped energy and brand-new music for his first ever headline UK tour, which kicks off at Saltbox on 20th March. Rob shared his infectious joy with us in a conversation covering the tour, his collaboration with Cassell the Beatmaker, his ventures into musicals, and the value of grassroots venues...
Theatre maker Natalie Bellingham brings her one woman show to Nottingham
Fri 07 Mar 2025Ahead of her upcoming solo performance at Lakeside Arts, where comedy meets life’s biggest transitions, Emma Oldham caught up with Natalie Bellingham to uncover the hidden layers behind Look After Your Knees...
We chat to Wille Edwards of Wille and the Bandits ahead of their Bodega show
Tue 25 Feb 2025Wille and the Bandits hail from Cornwall, playing rock and blues which they have reinvented in their own innovative style, pushing the boundaries of the genre for a whole new generation. After an extensive European tour in 2024, the band are embarking on a UK tour visiting 18 venues and kicking off in March: just a couple of days in, they will visit The Bodega. We spoke with founder Wille Edwards about the new tour, the band’s music, influences and lots more...
1104 results