Festival celebrates amazing music from across The Ding
READIPOP organiser Pete Wheeler said that community and diversity are what drive the event.
“We have such a great cross section of people, a lot of them local, and also people from further afield, but everybody just was really enjoying it, and excited to be part of it.
“That’s exactly what you want from an event like this – the ReadiPop charity that runs the event is very much focused on the community as a whole, so it’s about having accessibility to music for everyone, not just select people or those with more money.”
He said that diversity in the performers is something the festival strives for, too.
“The idea is to have a very eclectic line-up, and most importantly a lot of really talented local performers playing alongside the big names, and I think we’ve got the balance of that spot on.”
“It’s a small event, it’s not like Glastonbury, but what we try and do is really keep it to such something for everyone.
“But it’s also a real opportunity for people to discover just how much amazing music is coming out of Reading and Berkshire at the moment, and the diversity of that.”
He said that this is comes from the level of diversity Reading itself has.
“Reading’s known for a lot of indie bands, but there is incredible disco, reggae, Afrobeat there – there’s a focus for every kind of genre going on.
“We try very hard to both bring out the bands people have heard of or want to see, but really complement that with a strong diverse Reading line-up.”
Speaking of the community side of ReadiPop’s work, Pete says that it has been a struggle during the pandemic, as with most such organisations.
“When you’re a not-for-profit organisation, and you’re trying to focus on your work is it does add extra pressure,
“Having such a successful event, which has achieved so much of what the charity is trying to do, with a lot of happy local punters.
“This combination has been exactly what everybody here would want.”