AV Sunset on NottsRocks — AV Sunset - Image Gav Squires

Hockley Hustle - two words that conjure up thoughts of incredible music, often played in unusual places, and raising money for worthy causes. With more than 400 acts playing in more than 40 venues for the 2025 edition, we put some comfortable shoes and headed out to try and see as much as possible.

With the precise clockwork timing that only the British weather can provide, it started raining at exactly 12:15, and continued pretty much all day. Braving the storm, we hustled over to the Fox & Grapes to see Yaz. Now, some pedants might point out that’s in Sneinton and not Hockley, but if they want to declare themselves part of Hockley for the day, who are we to argue? Yaz is an incredible pianist who has been composing since she was 15, writing film score-esque pieces. The highlight is Escape, written as a reaction to her father having a stroke. It’s a moving piece that reminds us all of the power of music to protect and heal, even in our darkest moments.

Next up is Tom McMahon (no relation to the wrestling dynasty) playing downstairs at the Bodega. The singer/songwriter is accompanied by Sam Vickers on drums - he only learnt the songs the night before! Tom’s set opens with Broken Dreams, a song about constantly falling in love with broken people - a sentiment that’s only too familiar to those of us enjoying a pint of Bodega Lager. It’s briefly interrupted by a fleet of marching drummers walking down Pelham Street. A little bit folky, a little bit country, and a little bit rocky, it’s the first in a series of perfectly observed vignettes about relationships - some more successful than others (the relationships not the songs). There’s a minor panic when Tom knocks over a glass of water while trying to grab a capo. Fortunately, there are no electrical issues, and Tom smoothly segues it into a song about how clumsy he and his girlfriend are.

Squeezing into Cosmos Coffee, between people just after a drink, and people hiding from the rain, we catch Just Jude. She plays the kora - a traditional West African stringed instrument, which I’d never seen before. Accompanied on Tom Shawcroft on guitar, and his stepdad Andy on percussion, it’s a nice, mellow set of folk instrumentals. They end with an upbeat “party” song, which sees everyone leaving with a spring in their step.

ACHB (still not sure where that name comes from) are stalwarts on the Nottingham scene and they bring their set to The Chapel. It’s easy to see why they’re so popular and long-lived - they are very good at what they do. With songs about vampires, love, death, and love AND death, they put on a great show. The country-tinged Worst Way to Die is one of the highlights - suggesting romantically that “the worst way to die is without you by my side.” Don’t get us wrong, that’s a bad way to go, but the opening verse mentions being burned alive, which is probably physically more painful, if not necessarily as emotionally damaging.

Staying in the Angel, it’s a quick shuffle downstairs to see Scrump. It’s upbeat, yet vulnerable, and, as with Alex Hale, an amazing amount of charisma comes through in the songs. He mentions that Own the Night is his favourite song as there’s only two chords, and there’s also a track that references popular TV show Vikings, when Ragnar implores “light the fire”. All in all, it’s good, toe-tapping fun.

A quick stroll to that other Hockley enclave in Sneinton, Liquid Light, followed for Interkosmos. The first high-energy, punk band of the day - they would almost certainly have generated a mosh pit if it hadn’t been mid-afternoon. It was loud and angry, yet melodic, and topped off with a fast and furious cover of Janie Jones. During the show, we spied the Satangelist, whose set we sadly missed, mischievously putting his stickers around the venue. Naughty boy.

From a brewery to Brewdog to check out AV Sunset. They play quite heavy rock instrumentals, creating some really interesting sonic landscapes. They also refer to the crowd as “Nottinghamians” - surely a new epithet for people from our fair city. There’s a warning here about why you should never mess with bassists as a guitar is knocked completely out of tune by an elbow. You’ve been warned.

After a quick bite to eat at one of the street food vendors on Heathcoat Street, it’s straight back to it with Death of the High Street at Metronome. Dean Jackson from the BBC introduces them, proclaiming their album Bragging About Breaking to be one of his favourites of the year. With a name like that, we thought there might be songs about Wilkinson’s or Woolworth’s, but the opening track goes back even further - it’s called Age of Bronze. They’re a little bit indie, a little bit post punk, and there’s a little bit of early James in there too (emphasised by the similarly magnetic front man). That Dean Jackson definitely knows what he’s talking about.

Death of the High Street - Image Gav Squires

Then it’s off to The People’s Hall to see funky seven-piece Soft Serve. They have a real, polished ‘80s pop sound but without the gold lamé suits, unfortunately. To really make the point, they cover Breakfast in America by Supertramp (yes, it technically came out in 1979, but it still feels pretty ‘80s). Their penultimate track is Get Out, their first single, and even some cow bell stand technical issues can’t derail it. They end with Artificial Night Time - a song about not being able to fall asleep on a spaceship. The People’s Hall is the warmest venue of the day so it’s a shame that Soft Serve haven’t brought any Mr Whippy. No ice cream vans at Hockley Hustle? That’s the real death of the high street.

Back to The Chapel to see Seas of Mirth, only to find out that they’ve swapped set times with Oven. It’s only the country-flavoured rock groups second ever gig but you would never have guessed as they’re incredibly tight. They knock over a bottle of water during Oracle, their first song, and suddenly Tom McMahon feels a long time ago. Oven do have the best heckler of the day - their friend in the crowd kept asking about Spotify. “What if I wanted to listen to this on the way to work?” They also have a song called Sent to Coventry, which brought back stressful memories of being stuck in traffic for hours while trying to leave the city following an Arctic Monkeys gig. Obviously, that’s not Oven’s fault, and it shouldn't detract from their performance.

Back downstairs, where it’s absolutely packed for Baddy Issues. In their own words, they’re bringing the “party in the pub on a Sunday night”. They don’t disappoint, the audience loving their punky with a touch of grunge sound, and enjoying joining in with the refrain of “I love my dog”. There’s also a moment of almost zen-like calm when they ask the crowd, “what’s everyone’s favourite idea?” It’s not quite a koan, but it’s about the closest we get all day.

With the parties and after parties still going on until the early hours, a weary body, a tired mind, soggy clothes, and the thoughts of a 9am Monday Zoom meeting mean that we tap out at that point. But it’s been yet another incredible Hockley Hustle.

Here’s to 2026…

Hockley Hustle 2025 - Incredible Music

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