Hockley Hustle set to bring the city together through its music

400 acts will be playing across 50 venues around Hockley and Sneinton. Wristbands are just £15 for access to all the venues, with all the money raised going to support nine local charities.

After a whirlwind summer of UK festivals, star in the making JayaHadADream will join Notts legends Cappo, Alfie Sharp, Bridie Squires and more at Antenna, for intimate sets backed by the Rob Rosa string quartet, while Hip Hop royalty Klashnekoff makes his way to Can’t Stop Won’t Stop as a part of his UK tour.

The Bodega sees the return of the much loved band, Cecille Grey, with more familiar faces returning to stages across the festival including Sancho Panza, Hhymn, 94 Gunships, Cheap Dirty Horse and Vee Adu. The Bath Inn on Sneinton Market features a day of traditional music and choirs from around the globe whilst Lord Roberts is hosted by a trio of queer promoters - Queer Notts, Unnamed Drag and Queerwise.

Other stages are programmed by a flock of Notts promoters including Fluent in Both, Jah Digga, Nottanother, Can’t Stand The Rain, Poets Off The Endz, Cultural Vibrations, I’m Not From London and Notts Black Creatives Network, with Big Nature Collective and Swingsash hosting the infamous silent disco.

Cubed Cuts and Coffee will be an official Hockley Hustle seller, and the place to show support and purchase the released music of the Nottingham artists on the festival line up.

A massive part of the festival’s flavour will come from the expanded street entertainment representing many cultures with Dhol drummers, samba bands and choirs combining to create a carnival vibe. Lighting designers and projection artists are being commissioned to develop the overall design of the festival.

Thanks to a generous award from Arts Council England, the festival is also working to develop the next generation with an enhanced promoter mentorship scheme, running an industry day of free training and networking for 300+ creatives; delivering a Global Roots project with pop up events ahead of the festival and staging an exhibition celebrating the legacy of three female promoters.

Festival producer Ben Welch said: “We're buzzing to have received the support to expand the festival without losing the vibe and community spirit. The world feels more disparate than ever so we want Hustle and all the amazing people involved to offer a way to reconnect all our communities.

“We're looking at developing the next generation of creative scene makers to prioritise and deliver community based projects and events that help foster unity and combat hate. And it’s all in support of some amazing local charities that work across many different communities. Last year, we raised £15,000 and are getting close to £250,000 raised for charity since the festival began in 2006.”

The multi venue exhibition of the three promoters celebrating career milestones - Rastarella of Cultural Vibrations (15 years) and Parisa of Acoustickle (15 years) and Lady V of V Rocket Sound (60 years) - will feature memorabilia, posters, photos and video interviews with each of the trailblazers.

The Global Roots project in collaboration with the festival of the same name will see pop up events taking place ahead of the Hustle with a focus on World Music. The Global Roots stage will showcase world music, African music, reggae and more curated by promoters from those communities.

Future Hustlers, the promoter mentorship scheme is now in its third year and continues to be oversubscribed. Sixteen mentors have been paired with emerging promoters to give them hands-on experience independently curating and producing their own live music stages at the festival. It’s a scheme that has already proved its value with previous participants now working full time on the festival.

Aspiring artists and industry professionals looking to hustle and make connections can.sign up for the free industry day taking place 28 September at Fisher Gate Point. Partnering with Ladies Music Pub, it will be a jam packed day of panels and workshops alongside a special guest keynote speaker looking to develop and nurture the Notts scene.

Sign up is via Eventbrite Link - HUSTLE INDUSTRY DAY in collaboration with Ladies Music Pub

The festival donates all the ticket income, with other funds coming from sale of merchandise and T-shirts. This year, the festival will be supporting local charities: The Rose Thompson Foundation, SFiCE, Base 51, IMARA, Emmanuel House, Nottingham Women’s Centre, AKA CIC, Nottingham Refugee Forum and Tuvida Young Carers Notts.

2024 Wristbands are just £15 for access to all the venues and 400 acts.

The festival is supported by Arts Council England, It’s in Nottingham and Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.

Alex Flint, CEO of Nottingham’s Business Improvement District, It’s in Nottingham, adds: "We're excited to be part of the Hustle again this year and look forward to seeing the vibrancy, colour and culture it will bring to the streets of Nottingham city centre.

"Supporting Nottingham's diverse communities with events like this shows the size of the city's heart; we are a city which cares, and with the promise of music, dance and street entertainment, we also know how to come together, in style.”

All the line up announcements can be found at www.instagram.com/hockleyhustle/

Tickets on sale here Hockley Hustle Tickets

Photo credits – Alex Blades, Fabrice Gagos