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In photos: LYVIA at Rescue Rooms

In photos: Belly at Rescue Rooms

Gig review: Club Onion 5 at The OId Cold Store

Club Onion is the brainchild of Twisted Onion promoters Steve Solbé and Steve Hardaker. The events bring a mix of live bands, electronic artists and DJs to locations across the UK with the vibe being very much 1988–1992, bringing to mind the Megadog events from back in the day. The fifth Nottingham edition took place at The Old Cold Store...

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…

Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival Returns to Trent Bridge, for it's fifth year in a row at the venue

The Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival returns to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground from Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 October 2025, bringing with it over 600 beers and 100 ciders and perries from some of the UK’s most celebrated breweries; including Nottinghamshire favourites like Castle Rock, Lincoln Green, Blue Monkey, Batemans, Lenton Lane, and Shipstones

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...

We catch up with local punk outfit Sunk ahead of their gig at The Chapel

Punk is a rather strange genre: it leaks out of the idea of being a music style and instead lives its own existence as a lifestyle, a spirit, one that always exists in every social system in the world, in one form or another. Punk is also deeply intertwined into the music scene of Nottingham. One up-and-coming band, who boast loud, chaotic but intricate and charged live shows, is Sunk. We caught up with them at The Angel on a wet Saturday night, an hour before they took to the stage of The Chapel...

Waste Nott want not: the Sherwood zero-waste outlet flying the flag for sustainable shopping

We may be used to the blaring brands and excess packaging of supermarkets, but in many neighbourhoods in Nottingham a more sustainable option exists for buying groceries in independent zero waste shops. We spoke to  Liz Thomas, a director and volunteer at Sherwood’s Waste Nott, to learn how the small not-for-profit is making an impact by cutting down unnecessary packaging and waste.

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...

Lola Young, Day Fever and the Festival of Food and Drink: Here's what's on in Notts this week 15-21 September 2025

Nottingham is hosting a diverse range of events this week, from back-to-back musical performances arranged by Rough Trade to a majestic murder mystery dinner night and a 2000s emo festival. Be it enjoying comedic nostalgia with Friends on stage or witnessing an epic confrontation between local poets, there is something for everyone and this week's top picks from our city are...

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...

Theatre review: Momentos de la Vida at Squire Performing Arts Centre

The Robin Hood Improv Festival is in full swing in Notts. Our reviewer Sam Harvey went along to check out Momentos de la Vida, a deceptively simple concept inspired by black-and-white photography...

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... 

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...

Festival review: Foolhardy Folk Festival 2025

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...

Out of time: a idiosyncratic history of adult cinemas and shops in Notts

Sex sells….or so we’ve heard. We take a look back at Nottingham’s history of ‘adult’ entertainment cinemas and shops.

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...