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. This week we have three new tracks for you from acts with connections to Reading and Wokingham. 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. Belle Dame – Tennessee –
Belle Dame formed in Southampton and are based in Bristol, but were one of the lucky bands chosen to take part in Only The Poets’ battle of the bands at the Purple Turtle to earn a place supporting OTP at the Brixton O2 Academy, and were one of the two winners. They more than justified their selection, taking to the big stage like seasoned performers, and we hope to see them go from strength to strength. This is their latest single, and has a dreamy and cinematic quality to it. https:// www.instagram.com/belledame_band/
2. Catfish, When Rivers Meet – Soulbreaker –
We featured When Rivers Meet after their excellent appearance at Sub89 last year; the same week we also featured the first single from the Matt Long tribute album, With A Little Help From My Friends, in memory of the prodigiously talented blues guitarist who died much too young. This week we combine the two, as the latest single from the album features When Rivers Meet with an atmospheric version of the classic Catfish track. Matt wrote this song about the snake oil dealers in the music business after one of his friends from college went in for one of the major TV talent competitions and they tried to get her to sign over the rights to all her original material. All proceeds from the album are going to the cancer unit at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford where Matt was treated. https://www.facebook.com/thecatfishbluesband
3. The Dazed Minded – Going Home –
Reading-based The Dazed Minded are one of our favourite local bands, and they’ve just moved that up a notch with their latest single, Going Home, which is already a hit with fans in their live set. There’s a football theme to this indie-sleaze banger, which is appropriate as they played on the Purple Turtle stage in the Fanzone at Reading FC back in November, though football is used more as a metaphor about life. You can catch them live next at the Rising Sun Arts Centre on 27th Feb when they headline at Future Transmissions’ In Malcolm We Trust. https://www.instagram.com/ thedazedminded/
4. Sonic Whip – Invincible –
Reading is becoming a second home for this blues-rock trio from the Netherlands. They’ve played at the Purple Turtle three times now, as well as headlining at Wokingham Festival in 2024, and last month they provided the pre-match entertainment on the Purple Turtle stage in the Fanzone at Reading FC. This is their latest single, Invincible, which even features an excerpt from Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare! https://www.facebook.com/SonicWhip
5. doops – Witching Hour –
We missed this when it first came out, on the appropriately spooky date of Halloween, but this is the latest single from the Reading’s post-punk alt-rockers’ debut album, the space between, and it’s not too late to appreciate it. They played the album live at the Purple Turtle back in November, and we look forward to seeing them live at some point this year. https://www.instagram.com/ doopsband/
6. Myles Addison – Out of Time –
In contrast to some of the artists featured in the playlist, Myles Addison is just starting out as a musician. From Wokingham, the 17-year-old singer-songwriter is studying music and has been playing live in the area. He’s a fan of indie-rock, citing artists such as Sam Fender, Oasis and Paolo Nutini as influences, and this is the first song he felt was good enough to release; his quality-control is spot-on, and we look forward to more from this promising talent. https://www.tiktok.com/@myles.addison
7. Only The Poets – Monumental –
One thing we are very passionate about is grassroots music, and that’s something shared by Only The Poets; tickets at their very first gig at the Purple Turtle were just £1; to mark the release of their first album, And I’d Do It Again, they kept that same price for their recent gig at the Brixton O2 Academy. Unsurprisingly, they sold out the venue in no time at all. They also played a set at the Purple Turtle and a full gig at 3sixty at Reading Uni the Saturday before, as well as appearing on Sunday
Brunch on Channel 4! A further sign of their commitment to grassroots music is that the afternoon included a Battle of the Bands to choose the unsigned band to support them at Brixton. Monumental is the lead track of the new album, which entered at No 9 in the UK album charts the week of its release! https:// www.facebook.com/onlythepoets
8. Asia – Only Time Will Tell (Live) –
We’re sure many will remember the band Asia, from their self titled album that was so successful that it was the biggest album in the USA in 1982. Well, the latest line up of the band are still popular throughout the world and are currently on a tour of Japan and in that current line up is Reading musician, John Mitchell. Here’s a single from their forthcoming new live album featuring John on guitar and backing vocals on an excellent version of one of their biggest hits! https://www.facebook.com/ asiatheband
9. The Primitives – Thru the Flowers – 85/25 –
Like Only The Poets, The Primitives played at 3sixty at Reading Uni recently; we saw them as part of the Readipop Fiesta last September, and they are returning to Reading to headline at the Face Bar for Future Transmissions at the end of this month, on Tuesday 24th. This track is a remixed version of their debut single, released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of their first gig. The new track has guitar and other overdubs added to what was a fairly basic demo, yet good enough to bring them success. https://www.facebook.com/ThePrimitivesOfficial
10. 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 back in Reading in May. https:// www.sprigganmist.com/
You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday
