Our top 20 tunes from Reading and Wokingham artists from across 2023

IT’S BEEN a great year for music from Reading and Wokingham-based musicians.

We’ve loved being able to share some of the tracks that we’ve enjoyed. Every week, there is a new selection to enjoy and from some incredibly talented people.

We try to make the RaW Sounds Today playlist a must-listen, and given by how popular it is, you seem to agree.

Before we launch headlong into 2024, we wanted to spend a week looking back at the past 12 months, with our annual end-of-year review. Here are 20 fabulous tunes to enjoy.

Back to normal next week.

The Playlist is on a different link to the usual weekly one. It is at https://bit.ly/RaW2023Top20

Rila’s Edge – Share the Night

They were Number 4 in last year’s Top 20 with their Someone New single and we said “they are destined for a good year”.

Well, that has certainly been the case as the band have released a string of great singles like this one which highlight their ability to write and perform strong exciting indie anthems.

They performed some brilliant live shows during the year including an incredible performance in a packed tent at Wokingham Festival when they headlined the second stage.

They are certainly a band of the moment and we look forward to them progressing further during 2024 – www.rilasedge.com

Beans on Toast – Against the War

The Club Velocity team bring quality artists to the area and one that made a return visit was Beans on Toast.

He increases his audience each time which is no surprise with his performance and thought provoking songs – some witty, some serious, some both.

If any budding singer-songwriters want to know how to engage an audience they should get along to Reading Face Bar on March 5, when he returns for another Club Velocity/New Mind show in support of his album The Toothpaste and the Tube – beansontoastmusic.com