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Closing chapter: Jane Streeter looks back at thirty years of Lowdham shop The Bookcase

After thirty years at the heart of Lowdham village, The Bookcase — an independent bookshop founded and owned by Jane Streeter – has now closed its doors. Selling an abundance of local and global books, the shop supported local schools in the community, and also welcomed a few famous authors over the years, along with founding the Lowdham Book Festival which happened for over twenty-six years. Jane told us about the journey of the bookshop, along with the highs and core memories, over three decades…

The next stage: 25 years of the Nottingham Arts Theatre

For the past 25 years Nottingham Arts Theatre has been serving the city with a programme of local and touring indie stage shows in their iconic 200 year old Hockley building. We spoke to poet, and theatre Chair director Campbell Kay about the theatre’s journey, its role as an educational charity nurturing theatrical talent in Nottingham and their diverse range of shows…

20 Years of Hockley Hustle

This month, Nottingham city’s biggest independent arts and music festival, the brilliant Hockley Hustle, is celebrating twenty years of bringing sound and colour to our streets. Showcasing an eye-watering array of genres and talent, the festival is more than just a good time – it’s raised over £250K for 27 local charities, as well as providing stages for thousands of artists from Nottingham and beyond. 

This year, the Hustle is back on Sunday 25 October, bringing 500 acts to fifty stages. You’ll be able to catch the carnival, chill to some acoustic sounds, dance at the silent disco, enjoy punk, soul, Hip-Hop, and more.

To celebrate, here’s what the Hustle’s massive team of promoters, mainstay artists, and central organisers remember most fondly about the last twenty years of music and mayhem…

Competition: Win A Pair of Tickets to watch Suede and the Manic Street Preachers at Motorpoint Arena

Two of the UK's biggest indie rock bands are playing a double-header at the Motorpoint Arena on Wednesday 11 November. We have a pair of tickets to give away, all you have to do is enter our competition below...

Small talk: catching up with renowned Notts street artist Kid30

Kid30 (aka Small Kid) has been creating art in Notts for the best part of three decades, including the cover of our 200th issue. We had a chat with him about his history, his exhibitions, the Notts graffiti scene and why he’s been bulk-buying old condom machines... 

The Scientist: LeftLion chats 20 years of With Love And Squalor with We Are Scientists' Keith Murray

20 years ago, in the midst of an indie boom kickstarted by a thriving New York rock scene, We Are Scientists emerged as the band seemingly just there for a good time, rather than a long time. However, two decades and nine albums later, they have become one of the mainstays from that flourishing mid-00s period, all thanks to a consistently solid discography and their natural chemistry with one another. Ahead of their show at Rock City later this week celebrating 20 years of their beloved debut album, With Love And Squalor, LeftLion caught up with the band’s charismatic frontman, Keith Murray…

40 years of Notts County FC's Lifeline scheme

Notts County FC’s Lifeline scheme is an independent volunteer-run lottery and fundraising scheme, launched forty years ago this month, to support the football club through financial difficulties. Members pay £2 per week and are entered into a range of lottery draws and receive access to events, stadium tours, a training session, hospitality offers and more…

Common Ground: Alan Lodge's upcoming exhibition documents protests, parties and festivals over the last fifty years

Opening this month at Bonington Gallery is Common Grounds: Counterculture & Confrontation since 1976, a retrospective of the work of Alan ‘Tash’ Lodge. One of the UK’s most prolific photographers of alternative lifestyles, Alan’s work gives a vivid first person insight into the new age traveller movement and the 90s free-party scene, raising questions about the right to gather, policing, surveillance and community.

Art Fest 2026: what's happening this year?

After bringing over thirty murals to Nottingham in the past five years, Art Fest is doing things differently in 2026. Through exhibitions, street art tours, talks and workshops, this year’s programme celebrates Nottingham’s visual artists while opening conversations about what comes next… 

Another triumphant year for Gate To Southwell Festival

Dodging the heatwaves, we spent a couple of days on site at Gate To Southwell Festival. Pushing the envelope of folk, and with a collaboration with some of the most exciting Canadian musicians, it was easy to see why this local event is going stronger than ever...

Forget the high street: Why niche perfume is having a moment

Spend an afternoon wandering round perfume counters and you'll notice something. The same handful of bottles keep turning up everywhere from the big department stores to the smaller chemists tucked along the side streets. It's not that these scents are bad, as such, but there's a decent chance that at least three other people in any given pub have dabbed on the exact same one before heading out.

Bittersweet streets: a look at artist Julian Pinnick's new exhibition at Broadway Gallery

Anyone who has lived in Nottingham for years will have snapshots in their mind of characters, shops and moments lost to time, but one local artist has gone a step further, memorialising fleeting scenes of Nottingham’s past in paint. Ahead of an upcoming exhibition at Broadway Gallery, Liz Johnson talks to Julian Pinnick about his creative journey and why slow art can capture a changing urban landscape

Gig review: Witches Mortuary at the Mist Rolling Inn

Witches Mortuary is a band that may be unknown to a majority of the music listening public, but their story is absolutely awe-inspiring. Forming in July 2025, this group of young, hungry musicians have made a name for themselves in the local scene with an album, EP, and this concert, their first, at the Mist Rolling Inn. Their flavour of stoner doom metal has really caught the attention of the Nottingham metal scene, and their talent has translated to relative popularity as they have caught traction all over the internet...

Take Flight: Ria Ashcroft tells us about her circus theatre show for 0-2 year olds which comes to Lakeside Arts this weekend...

Blending theatre and aerial silks, Take Flight is a multi-sensory, interactive show from local theatre company Rebel Sparks. Coming to Lakeside Arts this weekend, we sat down for a chat with co-artistic director Ria Ashcroft from Circus Hub to hear more about this unique form of children's entertainment...

Nottingham's Streets Paved With Stories In Literary Map

Literary lovers don’t need to wait any longer to get their hands on a copy of
Nottingham’s Literary Map...

Bus driver Louise Lawrence is Awarded trentbarton Bus Driver of the Year 2026

The results of the 2025-2026 trentbarton really good service awards are in...

These Streets Are Ours: Beeston

In our latest edition of love letters to Nottingham neighbourhoods, local wordsmith Matt Turpin, editor of The Beestonian magazine, discusses the creative melting pot of Beeston.

Left Magpie February: Happy New Year

Back with another Left Magpie, Julian McDougall - our Notts County specialist - on what is beginning to look like a promotion-teasing campaign for the Pies! 

Review: Beat The Streets 2026

“This is our 8th edition since 2018; we’ve raised over half a million pounds so far!” proudly announces Managing Director of DHP Family George Akins during the Beat The Streets press tour backstage at Rock City. It’s a mind-blowing sum of money and a reminder that this festival hasn’t just become a staple of the Notts calendar for giving the city an amazing day of live music – it’s an event that makes a huge difference. Heading out for another day of venue roaming and charity fundraising, this is what our LeftLion team got up to at Beat The Streets 2026…