It’s time to Hustle – the powerhouse that is Nottingham’s Hustle Collective

Hockley Hustle – the one-day music and art festival transforming the streets of Nottingham each October – is featured in every fresher’s ‘Best Night Out in Notts’ rankings and every instagram’s ‘Not To Miss’ list. Young Hustlers, occurring on the same day in October, is a child’s introduction into all things dance, music, street art, and more. Green Hustle rolls round in May and celebrates prioritising our planet by bringing together businesses, organisations and communities with the same ethos at heart.

Hustle Cinematic launched in 2022 to bring communities together through shared experience and the transformative nature of cinema. Future Hustlers, a young people's development programme which coincides with a creative Industry Day event. And Queer Hustle – starting with a two venue takeover within Hockley Hustle in 2025 – delivered ballroom, music, drag, and even an exhibition celebrating Nottingham’s queer music icons. It’s fair to say, The Hustle Collective have a lot on their plate.

But who are they?

If you want full introductions feel free to visit their webpage, but for an overview, they are an absolute powerhouse of local freelancers, creatives, producers, artists and curators dedicated to making cool things happen in Notts to inspire positive change, and since 2024 I have had the pleasure of coming along for the ride and experiencing the glorious chaos of The Hustle up close and personal.

Starting as a Volunteer in 2024, then Event Manager this past May, and then Festival Intern 2025, it's fair to say they can’t get rid of me, but there is good reason for it. When I first arrived in Nottingham I set my sights on discovering the city’s creative beating heart – or multiple hearts, as I soon found out, because there is so much going on all the time! But one of those vital organs was undoubtedly The Hustle Festivals.

Born in 2006 as part of Oxjam, a local music festival raising money for Oxfam, Hockley Hustle has always had a core of doing good and feeling good. Who says you can’t party to aid a worthy cause? Since then the festival has directly contributed over £250,000 to Nottinghamshire charities and empowered countless communities and artists. Continuing on, the subsequent festivals have grown, each with their own purpose and flag to fly, but all of them focused on feeding back into their communities and having an absolutely great time whilst doing it.

I admire The Hustle Festivals for just that, for their ability to fight the good fight and have fun at the same time. In an age where endless screens reveal endless new crises which all cry out for our attention and threaten to burn out those of us determined to continue to care, The Hustle Festivals show a different way forward.

Whilst it may not be appropriate for every cause, using joy, celebration, music, dance, and togetherness to raise money or raise our voices might be a more sustainable way of maintaining both our spirits and much needed pressure on issues both close to home and across the globe. 

In my time working with the Hustle Collective, I have been endlessly inspired by their commitment to both their causes and to each other. Organising events on the scale and frequency that they do is no mean feat, but I have seen first hand how the team rally together to get the job done, and Nottingham is all the better for it.