Each week, there are 10 great acts in our playlist, all with a connection to Reading or 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. This week, we’ve got three new entries from acts who have a connection to the area.
1. The Anchoress – Let It Hurt –
Time for another RaW Sounds Today road trip, all the way to Aldershot to see The Anchoress, the stage name of multi-instrumentalist and producer Catherine Anne Davies, perform a mix of songs old and new, supported by her band of talented musicians. This was the first proper outing for playlist curator Chris Hillman since his heart attack last year, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with the quality of the songs that will appear on the forthcoming album due out later this year easily matching The Anchoress’ previous work. This self-penned track from her most recent album, The Art of Losing, is a haunting self-examination, raw and confessional, but softened by the layered instrumentation and gorgeous production (also down to Davies). https://www.facebook.com/theanchoress
2. The Dazed Minded – We’re Alright –
The Purple Turtle has been putting on some great music, and not just at the bar in Gun Street, they curated a stage at the Madejski stadium for Reading FC home games and presented a series of quality Reading bands. One of those bands was The Dazed Minded, who we’ve featured a few times, and they have just released this EP of songs recorded at their live appearance. This is a lovely anthemic track which builds from a quiet opening, and you can easily imagine a large crowd with a sea of lit-up phones waving in time to the music! https://www.facebook.com/thedazedmindedband
3. Leoni Jane Kennedy – Jesse –
Leoni Jane Kennedy is having a very busy year; we last saw her supporting and playing guitar with Solstice, and this time she was doing the same for The Anchoress. In addition, this is the third single she’s released so far this year. This charming song is all about the deep friendship between Leoni and the Jesse of the title; we were privileged to meet the man himself at the gig, too. Look out for the accompanying video, which adds to the warmth of the song, and we also enjoyed the guitar solo which gives off Carlos Santana vibes. https://www.facebook.com/LJKmusic
4. Gemma Rogers – MOLLY_1989 –
With her first single of 2025, Gemma Rogers turns her razor-sharp wit to the dating scene, and how women have to deal with unbalanced dynamics and unreasonable expectations. This is from her forthcoming second album, due out next year, we can’t wait! The track was played by Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6 Music, and you can’t get much better than that! We last saw Gemma play at the Face Bar in January for Club Velocity and are sure she’ll be back before too long, but you can catch her on tour, including at Glastonbury later this month. https://www.facebook.com/ gemmarogersmusic
5. Miki Berenyi Trio – Stranger –
Miki Berenyi was in the band Lush in the ‘90s, and then, after a break from performing, Piroshka. From that band the Miki Berenyi Trio emerged. They were due to play at the Face Bar for Club Velocity last month, but were forced to postpone due to ill health. This moody cinematic track is too good to leave until then, so we’re including it now, and looking forward to seeing them perform in December. https://mikistuff.com/
6. Verdagears – Bird at the Bar –
A rather different take on dating from a different perspective to Gemma Rogers’, this is the debut single from an exciting young grunge band from Reading we’ve seen perform a couple of times already and are very impressed by (the fact that they covered one of Andrew Merritt’s favourite tracks by Two Ton Shoes helped). Verdagears are playing at Wokingham Festival in August, opening the Marquee stage on Sunday 24th, so get down there early! https://www.instagram.com/ verdagears/
7. Solstice – Life –
Solstice were voted Best Band in the Prog Magazine Readers’ Poll for 2024, and when we saw them perform at the 1865 in Southampton recently, we could see why! In addition, band leader Andy Glass was voted top in the Guitarist category, and most of the rest of the band featured in the top ten of their respective specialities. Life is the latest single from their Clann album and is a great introduction to their sound. You can see them for yourself on the main stage at Wokingham Festival on August 25th! https:// solsticeprog.uk/
8. Steve Hackett – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway –
Another selection for prog rock fans! We featured one of Steve Hackett’s new tracks when he played at The Hexagon last year, when his band performed the Genesis classic album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, as well as his new material. The very next day they performed the same show at The Royal Albert Hall, and that show was recorded. This is the single, and title song of original album, from the forthcoming live release, The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall. The album is released on July 11th. https://www.hackettsongs.com/
9. Chesney Hawkes – LOUD! –
Featured in the paper recently, Chesney Hawkes is much more than a one-hit wonder. This track is from his new album, Living Arrows, his first after a twelve year gap to raise his kids in LA, and he returned to the UK to record this album. Chesney is originally from just down the road in Windsor, and is appearing at Rewind South in Henley-on-Thames in August, and the album was recorded in Jake Gosling’s Sticky Studios in Windlesham. https://www.chesneyhawkes.com/
10. China Bears – Gracie –
Based in Guildford, China Bears played in Wokingham a couple of years ago for a packed Gig House (now Den 24), supporting Rila’s Edge. They are returning to the town this summer for Wokingham Festival, where they are headlining on the Marquee stage on the Saturday night, 23rd August. This gentle and contemplative track is the lead track from their most recent EP. https:// www.facebook.com/ChinaBearsBand
You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday
