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We speak to Benjamin Wigley, director of Paa Joe & the Lion ahead of Nottingham Poetry Festival

Next year, Nottingham Poetry Festival will be celebrating its tenth anniversary. The longevity and success of the festival, which began as a project by Confetti and is now its own company, is an ode to Nottingham’s burgeoning poetry scene. This year, part of a jam-packed programme, is a screening of three films featuring poetry by the late, great, Benjamin Zephaniah. We spoke to the film's director and friend of Zephaniah, Benjamin Wigley, along with the festival’s creative director, Alma Solarte-Tobón.

Gigs, craft beer, comedy and Trans Pride and more: Here's what's on in Nottingham this week: 10 -16 June

A diverse range of things to do this week in Nottingham, from the first ever Notts Trans Pride to chilling in Sneinton Market with some lovely craft ales and live music. Here's what's on in Notts this week...

A Decade on Screen: 10 great moments from Notts TV

With local journalism becoming an endangered species in recent years, Nottingham is very lucky to have Notts TV. Along with training our students to become broadcasters and journalists, the company has made their mark over the years in both modest and mighty ways. Here’s some of their best moments, according to Channel Manager Chris Breese…

Five Leaves Opens Submissions for Diverse Debut Poets

Throughout June, Five Leaves Publications is accepting submissions for debut poetry pamphlets, particularly from under-represented or marginalised communities...could it be you?

The best Nottingham pubs, bars and venues to watch Euro 24

Euro 2024 kicks off on 14 June with both England and Scotland representing the home nations in the tournament. Here’s our guide to bars and venues around the city where you might want to watch the games…

Gig review: Bruce Dickinson at Rock City

The floors of Rock City took a beating as Iron Maiden front-man and rock legend Bruce Dickinson visited Nottingham to celebrate his new album, and prove that he's still at the top of his game...

Gig review: Thirty Seconds to Mars at Motorpoint Arena

Bringing that misty-eyed quality of Hollywood to the Motorpoint Arena, LeftLion witnessed Thirty Seconds To Mars reaching for the stars...

LeftLion's Guide to Summer Festivals 2024

The sun is out, summer is here, which can only mean one thing – it’s officially festival season! And while not everyone is lucky enough to win the Worthy Farm lottery by getting tickets to Glastonbury, the good news is there are plenty of incredible events happening right on our doorstep. To give you the lowdown, here’s our ultimate guide to the best local festivals taking place in Nottingham and the surrounding areas over the next few months…

We chat to They Might Be Giants about life, music and everything in between

In November, offbeat alternative rockers They Might Be Giants will grace Rock City with their presence. LeftLion’s Izzy Morris sat down with John Flansburgh to discuss life lessons, the band's huge back catalogue, and a certain stick...

Bearing Fruit: We hear from Fruit Market, who are providing low-energy homes and community-first architecture in Sneinton Market

A once crumbling Sneinton Market has become a thriving new neighbourhood of independent businesses. Providing low-energy homes with considerate, community-first architecture, Fruit Market is the next chapter in a story of local organic regeneration

We chat with Romy and The RHADs ahead of their Radfest gig

We caught up with Romy, Hayden, Ali and Dom – better known as Romy and The RHADs – fresh from their Dot To Dot debut and as they geared up for more gigs, including a performance on the Introducing Stage at Radfest...

Festival review: Bearded Theory 2024

Despite the unpredictable British weather, Bearded Theory 2024 proved to be a fantastic weekend of music and merriment. With an excellent line up, which included several of Notts' own talented bands, revellers were not deterred by a bit of mud during the four-day extravaganza...

Gig Review: Honeyblood at The Bodega

We dropped in to The Bodega to witness Honeyblood's storming returning to full form...

We speak to dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson ahead of Nottingham Poetry Festival

Pioneer of dub poetry, NME journalist, trailblazing activist, father and grandfather, the first black poet published by Penguin Modern Classics - Linton Kwesi Johnson has worn all these hats and more. Wondering which hat he’ll wear at the Nottingham Poetry Festival on June 14, we gave him a call…

Spoken word, album launches, restaurant week and the Castle Rock Yard Party: Here’s what’s on in Nottingham this week: 3 – 9 June 2024

Classical Concert Review : BBC Philharmonic- Discovering Glazunov

The Royal Concert Hall plays host to a long overdue revival...

Gig review: Indoor Pets at The Bodega

On such a blustery evening out of doors, it was Indoor Pets who were whirling up a flurry in ribcage-rattling rhythmics. We headed down to The Bodega to catch their return to the stage...

We chat to Home Counties on the sidelines of Dot To Dot Festival

As Dot To Dot Festival raged around us, LeftLion caught up with Will Harrison and Bill Griffin of Home Counties, to talk about the band's debut album, their sound transformation, and vodka shots...

We talk to Fast Forward, a creative learning outlet that teaches music as an alternative to traditional education

Fast Forward Direction Thru Music is helping transform the lives of students through the power of music. We spoke to founders Stevie Lee and his fellow musicians/co-founders, along with several students, to hear about their important work and the crowdfunder that hopes to help them train more students in music production skills.

Nottingham's most opinionated greengrocers on Lord Byron, fanzines, and JT Soar

Competition: Win A Pair of Tickets to Boho Family Festival with Martin Kemp, Ben Volpierre-Pierrot and Jeremy Healy

Boho is a three-day family festival taking place from July 26 – 28 2024 at Millview Glamping and Events site in Newton, a 30minute drive from the city centre. The line-up includes Martin Kemp from Spandau Ballet, Ben Volpierre-Pierrot from Curiosity Killed the Cat and singer Jeremy Healy as well as plenty of local talent.

We have two pairs of tickets to give away. To enter just fill out your details in the form below. This competition is open until Weds 19 June 2024. Our winners will be chosen at random on Thursday 20 June and notified by email soon after. Note these competition dates have been extended by a week.

Gig review: Kofi Stone & more at Mimm Studios

Kofi Stone, along with a host of different artists from all over the country, represented Big Nature Collective to put on a very special intimate event at Mimm Studios. LeftLion checked out this emerging talent... 

Theatre Review: CBeebies Ocean Adventure at Royal Concert Hall

All aboard the Royal Centre for a fun-filled CBeebies musical ocean adventure! Take a deep breath and dive underwater in the concert hall submarine with its musical crew, the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Ebenezer Cobham Brewer: The Victorian writer from Notts who created his own dictionary

For more than 150 years, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable has been a prized possession for imaginative authors. In a house near Sherwood Forest, we remember the man who first wrote it…

In photos: Take That at The City Ground

This weekend, Take That chose Nottingham Forest's City Ground stadium to host two nights of their This is Life tour. Our photographer Laura Patterson dropped in to get some shots...