Reading band done good The Amazons will be enjoying a hometown gig when they take part in a special Readipop Fiesta event this autumn.
They have been named as the headliners for the Readipop Fiesta, a one-day fundraiser which will be held in the University of Reading’s Students Union.
The group’s fourth album, 21st Century Fiction, is to be released on Friday, May 9 – while each of their three previous releases have made the UK Top 10 album chart.
Readipop usually runs for three days in Caversham Meadows but this year the team are taking some time out. To help plug the gap, they are holding the one-day event on Saturday, September 13.
There will be five stages and an impressive 14 hours’ worth of music to enjoy when the event takes place at the Students’ Union on Whiteknights Campus.
All profits for the event will go towards the work of the Readipop music charity and to help build a sustainable future for Readipop Festival.
Other acts confirmed include Mercury Prize winning drum and bass pioneer Roni Size, Liverpudlian female three-piece and BBC 6Music favourites Stealing Sheep and iconic disco darling Vanity Fairy.
Reading-based acts that will be performing include synth pop songstress and former lead vocalist with Valeras Rose Rey, indie rockers Puma Theory and Tasha K-P, who was one of the first female DJs to produce a Radio 1 Essential Mix.
Organisers of Readipop Fiesta say they will be bringing a diverse range of world class live acts and DJs alongside the best Reading-based talent, family activities, music and arts workshops, local real ales and craft beers, street food, Reading’s Indie Market, a mini record fair, and more.
Earlybird tickets for Readipop Fiesta have already sold out.
“The Amazons have been part of the extended Readipop family for a number of years now.” says Readipop founder Gavin Lombos.
“They played many gigs at our Plug & Play studios in their early days and had a full-time rehearsal space with us for over three years.
“We are over the moon that The Amazons are headlining Readipop Fiesta 2025, playing new album tracks as well as their hits to a big home crowd.
“It’s a real honour to have them perform for us as we begin our new chapter, taking over Reading Students’ Union with five stages of live acts, DJs and workshops across 14 hours.”
Of the rest of the bill, Gavin says: “We’re also thrilled to have Roni Size and Stealing Sheep returning after their memorable performances on our Readipop Festival mainstage in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
“Roni Size sent the crowd wild with his high energy DJ set, despite the high winds and rain that caused us to have to cancel the following day.
“Stealing Sheep put on our favourite ever live shows at the festival where they wore inflatable suits that blew up throughout their set.”
He continues: “We’ve been looking forward to sharing our first announcement for a long time, and there’s even more great acts to come soon.
“A big thank you to all our regulars and supports who have already bought Readipop Fiesta 2025 tickets, we’re certain it’s going to be a brilliant day and night for all the family.”
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Readipop’s festival has become a firm fixture in Reading’s calendar since it launched in 2016, presenting a mixture of big names and homegrown talent.
Gavin is looking forward to what is around the corner.
“All of us at Readipop are immensely proud of what Readipop Festival has become since it launched,” he says.
“However, the costs of building a festival site from scratch and running a three-day event has increased hugely in the last few years and seriously threatened our ability to continue Readipop Festival.
“By hosting our Readipop Fiesta event on one day this September at Reading University Students Union, we can continue to bring a strong line-up of musical talent to Reading while showcasing great local performers and giving attendees the chance to try different instruments, including classic drum machines and synthesisers, for themselves in our daytime workshops.”
When is Readipop Fiesta taking place and how do I get tickets?
Between noon and 2am on Saturday, September 13, the Readipop Fiest will be rocking the University of Reading’s Students Union. It is situated on the Whiteknights Campus.
Tickets cost £32.70, or £3.27 for those aged three to 13. Toddlers aged two and under get in free.
Tier two tickets cost £38.15 each.
For more details, log on to: https://www.citizenticket.com/events/readipop-3/readipop-fiesta-2025/
For all the latest information on Readipop music charity and Readipop’s event programme, see their website at http://readipop.co.uk and follow their socials at:
http://instagram.com/readipopfestival
http://instagram.com/readipopcharity
http://facebook.com/readipopfestival
Who’s who: Readipop Fiesta 2025 team preview the first line-up
The Amazons
The Amazons are back. After a huge Top 5 record with 2022’s How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me?, the Reading band returned recently with the emphatic ‘Living A Lie’ and ‘My Blood’ – produced by Royal Blood frontman Mike Kerr and featuring drummer Ben Thatcher. Today, they present 21st Century Fiction: their darkest and most heartfelt record to date – released May 9.
21st Century Fiction signals the emergence of The Amazons’ bold new sound – still loaded with riffs and roaring with aggression, but packed with a whole new level of introspection, energy and grandiose.
With three huge Top 10 records and sold out shows across the globe under their belts, The Amazons are facing their futures: fired up and ready to go. Let the show begin!
Roni Size
Roni Size’s whole life has been about building something new from whatever was around him.
From Bristol youthclub parties, through the white heat of rave and the founding moments of jungle and drum’n’bass, to transforming underground electronic music into something that could be played by a live band on the biggest arena and festival stages. 20-years ago, The Mercury Prize win for his ‘New Forms’ album brought D’n’B to the forefront of dance-music news, making even the rest of the industry – where reactions had up until that point been bemused – sit up and pay attention.
He continues to be in high demand with the world’s best festivals and events and a run of sold out exclusive headline dates with LTJ Bukem in the last few years. His triumphant set at Readipop Festival in 2023 showed exactly why he remains an artist not to be missed.
Stealing Sheep
You might have stumbled across Stealing Sheep before—maybe their debut single ‘Shut Eye’ snuck into your feed as a rogue viral meme, lurking in the obscure corners of YouTube and TikTok. But if you haven’t been paying attention, now’s the time.
Hailing from Liverpool, UK, this girl band of Becky, Emily, and Lucy have spent the last 15 years carving out their own lane—one that the mainstream might have overlooked, but the gamer, cosplay, and online Therian communities have championed through fan art and deep-cut devotion.
Their self-described ‘visual pop’ might not have topped the charts, but it’s fuelled a dedicated cult following (shoutout to the 6 Music dads keeping the faith).
Now, they’re back with new music, marking a bold new chapter. Produced by Joe Wills at Nan’s House Studio (inside the ever-eccentric Invisible Wind Factory venue), this record fuses medieval electronic pop, rave pop, UK garage, and PC music into a sonic world that’s both otherworldly and unapologetically DIY.
Stealing Sheep have always made music for themselves—but their latest releases makes it clear: it’s time the rest of us caught up. Stay tuned.
Vanity Fairy
She recently opened for The Last Dinner Party at their biggest headline show to date and also supported Toyah, Confidence Man, Altered Images and CSS, has been championed by BBC 6, DIY, CLASH, NME, Apple Music and CHANEL: you may not know her name yet, but Vanity Fairy seems destined to transcend her underground cult status.
Between her shimmering vocal falsetto (which has been compared to everyone from Barry Gibb to Kate Bush) and onstage theatrics, the iconic disco darling is earning a reputation as one of the most mesmerising live performers around.
Jopy
Brighton based three-piece Jopy, led by songwriter Jo Parnell, released their debut EP in Autumn 2024. Featuring six tracks including singles Head Hunters Pub & Grub and Graveyard Romance, the Planet Zombie EP showcases the band’s B52s/Cramps influenced glam punk sound chocker with incendiary punk riffs and frantically infectious choruses.
Full of macabre joy, the EP sees Jo celebrate her queerness through fantastical camp-horror fictions via Marc Bolan-esque vocals rolled into one blood-curdlingly gleeful package. Tracing these songs’ deeply personal origins, Jo says: “I want to write songs that people can relate to and feel seen by without having to relive the more difficult aspects of their journeys. This is why I chose to convey my experiences in the form of fun, campy horror stories.”
Rose Rey
Blending alt-pop grit with raw, unfiltered energy, Rose Rey is carving out a space of her own in the UK’s evolving pop landscape.
Her sound nods to the grit of Miley Cyrus and the edge of The Weeknd, striking a balance between emotion and late-night atmosphere. Whether playing packed festival stages like Reading & Leeds, Lollapalooza, and Mad Cool, or showing up in a stripped-back setting, Rose’s live presence is all about connection, intense, natural, and unfiltered. Her distinctive voice has found its way onto BBC Radio 1 and Radio 4, and her latest release leans into the bold, raw and emotionally tuned sound she’s been developing.
As a proud advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, Rose says she infuses authenticity into every track, using her music as a space for self-expression and inclusivity.
Tapping into her Venezuelan roots, she blends her vibrant synth-pop with emotionally charged storytelling.
Puma Theory
With a heavy yet melodic sound, Puma Theory (Jacob Holroyd & Cameron Smith) are an alternative rock duo whose songs explore themes of identity and challenge toxic ideas of masculinity. Rooted in introspection, the band acts as a vehicle helping the duo to make sense of the anxiety that comes with growth and change.
Expanding to a four- piece live, the band display a raw and honest performance underpinned by distorted guitars and powerful drums.
Tasha K-P
Tasha KP is a Caversham-based techno, rave and house DJ, who has been bringing her trademark hard, uplifting grooves and breakbeats to radio, clubs and festivals since 1990. In 1997, Tasha became one of the first women DJs to produce a Radio 1 Essential Mix.
Tasha is currently resident DJ at NueTopia, Reading’s bi-monthly Saturday night old skool rave mashup in the basement @ the Purple Turtle.
She has DJed worldwide including at Megadog, Club UK, Tresor (Berlin), Womad Festival, Rezerection, Rave Nation (CZ) and many more. She also plays every year at the Vixen Festival at the Fox and Hounds Beerhouse in Caversham, an annual fundraiser for International Women’s Day.
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