Each week we like to champion the music scene with ten songs in our playlist that all have a connection to the RaW (Reading and Wokingham) area and sometimes beyond. There’s so much new music about that this week we have four new entries from acts who are from or have have played in the area. As always, we have a wide variety of musical styles, but we think they’re all worth a listen and we hope you find something new to enjoy as well as maybe getting out to experience the thrill of live music.
1. Spriggan Mist – When Stars Collide –
We were privileged to be invited to a ‘secret gig’ at the Face Bar, which was a dress rehearsal for Spriggan Mist’s upcoming tour featuring their new album, The Glare. The Bracknell-based band has gone from strength to strength over the years we’ve been following them, and recently featured in the top albums of 2025 in Prog magazine. This is the latest single from the album, and it’s a good example of their sound, mixing rock, folk and prog, and featuring multiple instruments including a keytar! Look out for them on tour, they are fantastic live; they’re playing in Reading in May. https:// www.sprigganmist.com/
2. Nicole Allan – Like Nobody Else –
A long-time, and hard-working, member of the local music scene, Nicole Allan has been getting much-deserved wider recognition for her self-penned Country music songs, with several top-10 entries in the charts last year, including a Number One for Find Me (which also found favour in our own Top 20 of 2025). This is her latest released track from the EP Goodbye Girl, which has meant a fantastic start to the year with another Number One in the UK Country chart! Nicole can regularly be found playing at the Butler in Reading, where she hosts open mic and other sessions. https:// www.instagram.com/nicoleallan95/
3. Lake Acacia – Scars Last Forever –
Another epic track from the Banbury pair, who have a massive sound considering they play bass and drums; they’re also great to watch live, a real dynamic duo. Tim and Joe have been fairly quiet since about this time last year, but have been active behind the scenes and look forward to a busy 2026. This track deals with the powerless felt when witnessing things going wrong that you can do nothing about. You can catch them in action at the Face Bar on 13th February courtesy of Club Reckless. https://www.instagram.com/lakeacaciaband/
4. Marisa and the Moths – Gaslight – Stripped –
Marisa Rodriguez revisits one of the band’s recent hit tracks with a sensitive stripped-back piano and vocals version, augmented by strings. The song follows someone in a controlling relationship who recognises they deserve something better as they realise how they have been deceived. The single this comes from also has the original full band version and a bonus cover of the Radiohead classic Creep. https://www.facebook.com/marisaandthemoths
5. EBB – No One’s Child –
EBB are based in Scotland, but travel all over the country as they are very much in demand as one of the leading attractions in the prog rock sphere, with their dramatic stage shows. We were very fortunate that they visited Berkshire twice last year, gracing the main stage at Wokingham Festival, and then at the Four Play Prog Fest IV at the Face Bar, organised by Spriggan Mist and Kindred Spirit Band. This is a track from their recent live album, recorded just down the road at the 1865 in Southampton. https://www.facebook.com/EbbBandUK
6. Two Year Break – CRASH BANDICOOT –
A bit of nostalgia; for those of a certain age, Crash Bandicoot was the game to play on your Playstation or Game Boy in the ‘90s and ‘00s, and this track looks back to those simpler days of the Spice Girls, Walkman players and Busted (or maybe we were just younger then with less to care about). Based in London, Two Year Break were just one more of the excellent line-up at Reading Rising at the Face Bar last November. https://www.instagram.com/twoyearbreak
7. Factor 50 – Comfort –
We don’t know a lot about this band, except they’re based in Bristol, and played at the Purple Turtle back in September, but we really like this track from their current EP, Good News! They recently had the opportunity to write and record a track at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, so we’re looking forward to hearing the result of that! https://linktr.ee/factor50protectyourskin
8. Millie Manders and the Shutup – Me Too –
We first saw Millie Manders and the Shutup (MMATSU, for short) back in 2018 at the Acoustic Couch in Bracknell, when the band had been going for about three years;
it’s now been over a decade that they’ve been touring with their brand of punk and ska, and the rage which fuels some of their material is still strong. It was a joy to see them in action again, headlining at Reading Rising at the Face Bar back in November; this is their latest single, a fierce demand for social change in response to injustice which has been accepted for far too long. https://www.facebook.com/milliemandersmusic
9. Tom Robinson – War Baby –
We’ve featured Tom Robinson before, when he played at the Face Bar and then headlined at Wokingham Festival. He’s back in the area again, celebrating over 50 years of grassroots music, with an acoustic show accompanied by Adam Philips on guitar at Wokingham Music Club on Thursday 29th January. This track is the one that he’s most proud of writing, even though he probably couldn’t explain what the elliptical and allusive lyrics are actually about. https://www.tomrobinson.com/
10. Attila the Stockbroker – Arirang –
Something a bit different, both in general and from this particular artist. Attila the Stockbroker is mostly known as a performance poet, though he first appeared on stage playing bass in a punk band nearly 50 years ago. Since then he’s toured the world as a musician and worked as a journalist. This track is a slight departure from his usual material, though in keeping with his cultural activism; it’s a Korean folk song which is sung as a symbol of unity between North and South; coincidentally, K-Pop band BTS have just announced their next album will be titled Arirang. You can see the man himself in action at the Rising Sun Arts Centre on 30th January, courtesy of Future Transmissions. https://www.facebook.com/attilathestockbroker
You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday
