ONE OF the acts on the bill at Reading Festival this year has become the latest to make the transition from punter to performer.
Wokingham’s own Songer is set to return to the festival this weekend, but this time he’s taking to the Main Stage–a slot which is a dream for any performer.
While it isn’t his first time performing at the festival, it will be his first time performing on the biggest stage at the event, and perhaps even to one of the biggest possible audiences he’s faced to date.
Since breaking out onto the UK rap scene in 2019, Songer has made huge waves through hard work, earnest songwriting, and assured vocal performance– all married together in an eminently approachable, down-to-earth style.
On getting the call to perform at the festival, he said: “It’s like winning the lottery–it’s everything I’ve ever wanted to do.
“I grew up going to Reading Festival, so it felt like the pinnacle when I played a couple of years back, but this really feels like the biggest thing in my career so far.
“It’s a serious checkpoint; I haven’t been able to stop smiling since I got the call.”
Having attended the festival for a number of years as a punter, Songer is well-versed in what a performance looks like from both sides of the stage monitors.
“If I’m watching in a tent, I’m getting stuck in, like up at the Chevron Stage, definitely, but when it comes to the Main Stage, I’m more of a sit back and just enjoy it.
“But I’ll go wherever it’s loud.”
It’s possible that that experience being in the crowd informs the nerves as a performer, but Songer says that they’re probably a good sign.
“I get nervous for every show, but this one might top the lot.
“There’s such a build-up, and we’re pulling out so many things to make it special, so until I walk off that stage, I’ll be nervous.
“But if you’re not nervous, I don’t think you care, and I care about this more than pretty much anything I’ve ever done.”
As to how that nervous energy converts into performance on stage, he says: “I think I’m pretty good at that now.
“There is that fight or flight thing that comes in, but when you first walk on stage you get the reception from the audience, and that’s like an out of body experience, and you go into that mode.
“I do think about everything which could possibly go wrong beforehand, but when you’re performing, all you’re thinking about is giving every single person in that crowd a memory that they won’t forget.”
To say that Songer is prolific is, frankly, an understatement; since his debut in 2019, he’s dropped five albums, and worked with the likes of K Motionz, KiLLOWEN, Qbit, and D Double E.
Among his litany of collaborators are Issey Cross, on the sublime Sleepwalking, and Becky Hill–both of whom he shares the bill for this year’s iteration of Reading Festival.
As to whether he might be making a special appearance with any of his previous collaborators, he remained coy.
“I’ll be darting about, I can say that much– I’ll keep it a surprise.
“But I can say that I will also be doing a D&B set over on the HomeBass stage with Disrupta.
“When you’re performing with someone else, it just balances; there’s those moments, especially in drops and blends, that feels just as powerful as everyone singing along to a chorus.
“That’s what makes magic happen up there, that adrenaline.”
As for making music magic, Songer continues to work on his next album, his sixth in as many years, in the background.
“Music is like a coping mechanism–I’d be doing it regardless.
“There’s a lot of stuff I’ve made which would never see the light of day, and I make it for a specific moment or feeling.
“As I grow, as I have good days, bad days, it feels kinda chronological and has charted my life like that, so I like having those checkpoints.
“Looking back on albums as chapters in my life, that’s how I like to do it. Some stand out to people more than others, but personally, that’s where I feel the albums come from.
“All of them are super important to me, and I’ve no idea when I’m gonna stop.”
As for when the album’s release can be expected: “It’s not exactly finished yet, I want it to be ready to go, exactly where it needs to be.
“It’ll either be the back end of this year, or early next year.
“There’s one tune [from the new album] I’ve got for the set–if I had an hour I’d play more–but I’ve got half an hour, so it’s gonna be a bit of a highlight reel.”
Songer is playing on the Main Stage at Reading Festival from 1pm on Sunday, and appearing with Disrupta on the HomeBass stage from 8pm that evening.
Full details and last-minute tickets are available via: readingfestival.com
