READING RISING
STILL FANCY ANOTHER FESTIVAL WEEKEND?
When: November
Where: The Facebar, Reading, Berkshire
Founded: 2018
Type: Independent indoor rock and alternative music festival
Camping: No
Known for: Two alternating stages, no set clashes and a mix of established names, local bands and new discoveries.
Next festival: 7–8 November 2026
Weekend and day tickets are available through Skiddle.
Packed away the tent but still fancy another weekend watching bands? Reading Rising takes over The Facebar in Reading each November, bringing familiar names, local talent and bands you might be about to fall for into the same venue.
The two stages alternate, so you can catch every band. Finish a set in one room, nip to the bar and head across for the next one. It also gives the bands time to set up and soundcheck properly. Your hardest decision might be when to get some food.
Joe Conneely, Connor Shortt and Aaron Iley are part of the team behind it, and also play together in InAir. They book bands they love and listen to what people want. LASTELLE played the first Reading Rising in 2018, so give the unfamiliar names further down the poster a chance. You might find yourself following them for years.
We went along in 2025 and were impressed by how smoothly it ran. It’s an independent festival put together by people who know what it’s like to be on stage and in the crowd. Meet the organisers and get a feel for the weekend in our coverage below.
FESTPOD COVERAGE
Reading Rising 2026 with the organisers
Neill and Rich catch up with Joe, Connor and Aaron in Festpod 93. We talk InMe, LASTELLE and the rest of the bill, what happens between sets, and the work that goes into getting everyone through a festival weekend. Aaron’s nan makes an appearance in the story too.
How Reading Rising began
Our 2025 organiser chat in Festpod 80 gets into the festival’s beginnings, its place in the local scene and why giving bands a proper soundcheck matters. The dates, tickets and line-up discussed in this earlier interview are for 2025.
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