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. We’re still mostly featuring Wokingham Festival acts, but with good reason as the line-up was so strong; of the new entries, one was performing at the festival this year, and the other two have appeared in the past. 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. Hoopy Frood – The River –
One of the many highlights of Wokingham Festival was this Wokingham based band. They just seem to get better and better and they performed an impressive set encompassing tracks from throughout their career. They ended the set with an inspired choice of covers as Hotel California segued into Comfortably Numb in inimitable Hoopy style. It was absolutely stunning! Great chance to remind ourselves of one of our fave tracks of recent years which opened the set and comes from their most recent excellent ‘Mostly Harmless’ album – https://www.hoopyfrood.co.uk
2. John Mitchell/Lonely Robot – Show the Way –
Exciting news and sad news! The exciting part is that John Mitchell is releasing a new Lonely Robot album on 11th September. The sad news is that it’s going to be the last! John has decided to lay the astronaut to rest but what a way to go out! The album, aptly entitled ‘An Ending’, is, as you’d expect, a brilliant collection of quality songs, expertly played and produced, overlayed with John’s wonderfully emotive vocals. It may be the end for Lonely Robot but there’s a legacy of six incredible albums and we are sure there’s lots more to come from the multi talented John Mitchell. This track is the lead single from the new album – https://linktr.ee/LonelyRobot2026
3. Puma Theory – Telephone Man –
Jacob and Cameron performed as a duo rather than a full band recently at the Readipop Yard Party, going back to their beginnings, and it was a pleasure to hear their songs in a stripped down form; some even said they preferred the intimacy of those arrangements, with the vocals to the fore. This track is from their recent Live at Farm Road EP. https://www.facebook.com/pumatheory
4. Who Ate All the Crayons – Belly of the Beast –
We’ve featured ‘Crayons’ a few times in the playlist, and with good reason; they not only have catchy tunes in an indie-folk-rock style, but put on a fantastic live show. Belly of the Beast is the second track from their latest EP, more upbeat and anthemic than Bare Your Teeth which we featured last month. A packed crowd enjoyed their headline performance at Wokingham Festival on Saturday, climaxing with Harry Stradling airborne again, with a huge leap from the drum riser! https://whoateallthecrayons.com/
5. Cheap Suits – Sucker –
Oxford based Cheap Suits were the first band on stage at this year’s Wokingham Festival, opening the Marquee stage on Saturday, and setting the standard for the weekend. This is their third single; like many of the bands at the Festival, they’ve been featured by BBC Introducing, as a band to watch for the future. https://www.instagram.com/cheapsuits.band/
6. Mordecai Smyth – Like a Shark –
Mordecai Smyth has been active on the local music scene since the late 1970s when his band played their first gig at Woodley Players Theatre. He’s moved on from Abba influenced pop since then, and you can find his pop-psych work on the Wokingham-based Mega Dodo label. He played this, his latest single, and other tunes when he appeared on the Marquee stage on Bank Holiday Monday. https://www.facebook.com/stickytapeandrust
7. Ro Jordan – Origami Menu –
Ro Jordan is another to watch for the future, she’s been featured on BBC Radio 1 and was voted Best Solo Act at the Radio Wigwam Awards this year. She appeared on the Marquee stage on Sunday, which was being curated by Radio Wigwam, and those who were there enjoyed the full range of her talent. This is the latest in long line of excellent singles from this artist. https://
www.rojordanofficial.com/
8. Pixelstorm – Life Isn’t Always Extraordinary –
If you like a bit of electronica influenced by 80’s retro synth-pop, you should have been at the second stage at Wokingham Festival on Saturday, where you would have seen Pixelstorm, who also recently performed at the Purple Turtle. We love a keytar, and this was at least the third seen on stage at the Festival, after Kyros and Spriggan Mist. https://www.facebook.com/ pixelstormband
9. Arthur Brown and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown – Nature –
The August Bank Holiday Monday is getting well known as the day that legendary artists come along to headline at Wokingham Festival. In the past we’ve seen Focus, Caravan, The Tom Robinson Band and many more. This year is no exception as the legendary Crazy World of Arthur Brown, famous for the massive No.1 hit, Fire, was there! Arthur Brown is known for his impressive theatrical live performances and it was a memorable occasion. Arthur has a new album, Nature, due for release soon after the festival. This is the album’s title track which proves that Arthur still has the fire in his soul, creating music that remains relevant, socially aware and exciting – https:// www.thegodofhellfire.com
10. Nineteenth Hour – Something in the Water –
Like Pixelstorm, we recently saw Nineteenth Hour at the Purple Turtle, and, also like him, they were on the Marquee stage at Wokingham Festival on Saturday. Based in Oxfordshire, the band formed in 2019 and have been writing and performing since, and this is already their seventh single. https://www.instagram.com/nineteenth_hour/
You can listen to all the songs featured in our Spotify playlist at https://bit.ly/rawsoundstoday
