LIVE FROM THE PIT: Alt Blk Era, Saint Agnes and Luna & The Lime Slices

Closing off the tour for their new EP Our World, ALT BLK ERA played a sold out home town show at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms. Nottingham‑born sister duo Nyrobi and Chaya are reshaping the UK alternative landscape with a sound that fuses rock, drum’n’bass, rap, trap and dark pop into something unmistakably fresh. Rising from their DIY beginnings during lockdown, to winning MOBO awards, the band have built a world where they cause genre boundaries to cease existence and where identity, power and vulnerability collide.

LUNA & THE LIME SLICES opened the night with a hazy, hypnotic confidence that instantly set them apart. The Nottingham outfit leant into their alternative shoegazey rock sounds, all swirling guitars, thick low‑end and a dream‑meets‑darkness atmosphere.

Fronted by dual female voices that clash and lift each other in unexpected ways, their sound felt fluid and deliberately unboxed, where they shifted from soft‑focus delicacy to heavier, more urgent textures without warning. As a support act, they warm up the hometown crowd with ease, with tracks like Sober, Less They Hear and Caught Up, but still showed they are a force to be reckoned with.

Goth‑adjacent London four‑piece SAINT AGNES hit the stage next, looking like they’d crawled straight out of the previous night, which, in fairness, they had. They’d dropped their new album Your God Fearing Days Are About To Begin the day before the show, celebrated accordingly, and arrived in Nottingham hungover, sleepless, and gloriously nonchalant . Introducing themselves with a deadpan “We are four‑piece SAINT AGNES and we are here for a bad time,” they tore straight into a set the crowd devoured from the first note.

KITTY A. AUSTEN delivered a razor‑edged vocal performance, flanked by JON JAMES TUFNELL on guitar, ANDY HEAD on drums, and touring bassist MAXINE CAHILL, with highlights of the set being Bloodsuckers, Good Boy and The Beast. 

Sisters Nyrobi and Chaya of ALT BLK ERA walked onstage with that determination and self‑assurance that comes from knowing a hometown crowd is ready for you. They wasted no time with a slow build, launching straight into a set that fused rock, drum’n’bass, rap and theatrical flair into something volatile and magnetic. Within seconds, Rescue Rooms was moving, sweating, and fully immersed in their world. Opening the set with Our World, My Drummers Girlfriend and Silhouettes In The Mirror, before disappearing off stage and reappearing in the middle of the crowd to tease with a snippet of Run Rabbit, the band wasted no time in getting everyone moving.

ALT BLK ERA gave arena level energy in a 450 capacity room. Moving through tracks from both their debut record Rave Immortal and tracks from their latest release, Our World, including crowd favourites Okay (Cyber Racing) and Upstairs Neighbours, which both prompted lots of crowd chants and furious clapping, Nyrobi and Chaya were engrossed in the reactions from the fans, but never lost the focus of their performance.

The band dedicating I'm Normally Like This to a fan turning 16 in the crowd, was a highlight of the evening, with everyone reacting as if it was their birthday being celebrated. ALT BLK ERA closed off a triumphant sold out show in a strong display of resilience, closing the set with Tissues and the full version of Run Rabbit after the earlier snippet.

ALT BLK ERA are a storm on stage; theatrical, magnetic and one of the most exciting new acts redefining what alternative can mean in 2026. What began as a hometown show became something closer to a statement: that their rise isn’t hype, it’s hard work paying off. Nyrobi and Chaya had the crowd fully converted to the meticulously crafted world they built in real time, matching their energy at full volume. Our World clearly marks a new chapter and on the closing night of their tour, ALT BLK ERA proved they’re already writing the next one onstage, louder and more unstoppable than ever.

Words: Lou Viner-Flood

Photos: Jynx Cosgrove