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, at different stages of their careers. 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. 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 gig at the Brixton O2 Academy on Monday. 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 last Saturday, 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, and is a stand out tune. https://www.facebook.com/onlythepoets
2. 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 their 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
3. 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 the 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
4. 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/
5. 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/
6. 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/
7. 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 followssomeone 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
8. 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
9. 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
10. 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
You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday
