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Everything to know about Sidedoor Social: where Notts creatives showcase their work

Ever wondered what to do with those almost-finished creative projects, or have you just been seeking opportunities to share personal passions? Sidedoor Social, a new Nottingham social enterprise, is probably what you’re looking for. Their founder Si Beales and creative director Bo Brindle tell us all about it...

In photos: Real Farmer at JT Soar, with Hard as Nails and Every Face Becomes A Skull

How UK Indie Magazines Are Rebuilding Community After Social Media Burnout

Independent magazines never set out to become refuges. They simply carried on being themselves. Something shifted around 2022. Not dramatically — more like a slow leak. Readers, writers and creatives across the UK began quietly stepping away from their feeds, worn down by the noise, the algorithms, and the performative sense of connection that social media had long marketed as community. What they discovered instead surprised even the people offering it: print. Independent magazines never set out to become refuges. They simply carried on being themselves.

Left Stag: April - Everyone's Stags

As the season trundles towards its conclusion, with Mansfield Town all but mathematically safe and out of all cups, my non-football-fan wife tells me that she misses the tension that she’s become accustomed to in the other seasons since we met!I say non-football-fan,but I don’t think I can really say that anymore…

Theatre Review: Sunny Afternoon at the Theatre Royal

You truly do feel as if you’re in the crowd of a rock’n’roll gig...

How the Nottingham community is supporting Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa

Since hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica and Cuba in October, the Nottingham community has been working hard to raise money and gather aid. Sharon Stevens spoke to some of the organisers in Nottingham to find out how people have been helping and what can be done next...

Gig review: Everything Everything at Rock City

It’s safe to say, Mancunian art-rockers Everything Everything love playing in Nottingham. In fact, since the start of 2024 alone, the band had already played our city four times, including earlier this year with The Wombats at Motorpoint Arena. However, this fifth visit to Nottingham in under two years was for a very special occasion – a 10th Anniversary celebration of their beloved third album Get To Heaven. We went along to join the party at Rock City on a cold, wet Monday night…

Everyone’s a star: Five Seconds of Summer bring nostalgia and new sounds to The Palais Nottingham

We take a trip to The Palais - and down memory lane - for a very special album listening event with Aussie pop-rock four-piece Five Seconds of Summer...

Gig review: George Gadd + The Aftermath at The Bodega

Where better for George Gadd and his band to host a homecoming show (and launch a new album) than The Bodega? We joined the sold out show and discovered warmth, music and plenty of vinyl...

LeftLion's Latest Listens #33: Notts music we're currently spinning

In this edition of LeftLion's Latest Listens, our music team reviews new releases from Bored Marsh, George Gadd + The Aftermath, Molly Godber and The Red Line...

Our May cover artist Becky Appleyard talks comic books, table-top games and advice

This month’s cover artist Becky Appleyard talks comic book art, inspirations, and advice for artists…

Have you ever felt unsafe as a woman in Nottinghamshire? Your voice is needed

In a new campaign, Nottinghamshire Police are surveying women’s experience of feeling unsafe in public to drive positive change. 

Gig review: The Wombats at Motorpoint Arena, with Everything Everything

Emerging during the mid-00s, Liverpudlian trio The Wombats could have easily fallen into the depths of indie landfill, never to be seen again. But now almost 20 years into their career, they are arguably as strong as they have ever been, having just added sixth studio album Oh! The Ocean to their impressively consistent discography. Now embarking on a massive UK arena tour including the likes of the O2 Arena in London and OVO Hydro in Glasgow, the band swung by Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena to begin their biggest run of shows yet…

Theatre Review: Look After Your Knees at Lakeside Arts

Natalie Bellingham delivers a solo performance celebrating the messy business of life...

‘Flour everywhere’ and a ‘life-changing’ écliar? We spoke to the founders of Mapperley's Coosh Bakery, Rachel and Tom Egan.

Based in the heart of Mapperley, Coosh Bakery serves up freshly baked artisan delights to the carb loving masses. From perfectly flaky pastries to show-stopping sourdough loaves, each creation is crafted with love and the finest ingredients. We caught up with the co-founders, couple Rachel and Tom Egan, to find out how the project went from their kitchen to a thriving bricks-and-mortar bakery, now a neighbourhood favourite.

Theatre Review: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at Nottingham Arts Theatre

The joyful coming-of-age musical struts into Nottingham Arts Theatre with a bright young cast and plenty of sass

Here's Every Book We Reviewed In 2024 (And Where To Buy Them)

We've made you a list, we're checking it twice.

After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024 at Bonington Gallery

Over at Bonington Gallery an unfiltered time capsule of working class life is on display in the latest exhibition, After the End of History. Prompting questions about both change and continuity in British culture, over three decades of everyday life is revealed through the lens of 22 different photographers, including Richard Bilingham, Serena Brown and Rob Clayton. 

Concrete Jumble: how Nottingham could reinvent itself ready for an ever-evolving future

A pertinent question is being asked across the country: what to do about the once busy city centres now rife with empty buildings? Bereft of the bustle, and with a derelict shopping centre to boot, Sophie Gargett explores how Nottingham could reinvent itself ready for an ever-evolving future.