You can rock, roll, revel or be Well Read with our pick of this week’s arts & entertainment
Rock music
Brave Rival are a rock band on a mission. catch then at Arlington Arts, Snelsmore Common on Saturday (8pm). No gimmicks, no frills - just raw, high-energy, riff-driven rock that demands to be heard. Since forming in 2019, the Portsmouth-based quartet - vocalist Lindsey Bonnick, guitarist Ed ‘the Shred’ Clarke, bassist Billy Dedman, and drummer Donna Peters- have built a reputation as one of the UK’s most electrifying live acts. Their debut album Life’s Machine (2022) put them on the map, catching the attention of critics, fans, and even Joe Bonamassa, who called them one of his “favourite discoveries.” Support act Revenant are bringing their message to the masses. This is real life with stories of hope, love and life, the good, the bad and the ugly and will be releasing more music and touring throughout 2025. Tickets email boxoffice@arlingtonarts.co.uk
Literary Festival
Well Read at Wasing on Sunday and Monday is a A New Literary Festival encompassing Words, Wisdom and Wellness. Wasing Estate’s ancient woodlands will be transformed into a haven for writers, nature lovers, and wellness enthusiasts at the debut of Well Read. This exciting new event promises a refreshing approach to literature, blending creative expression with the healing powers of nature in a stunning, immersive environment. The festival has a great line-up of authors, including headliners Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Clare Balding and Melissa Hemsley, to share wisdom and practices around nature, the environment, health, nutrition, personal growth, parenthood, farming, travel, sustainability and more, truly offering something for everyone. www.wasing.co.uk/wellread
Taylor Swift tribute
Taylormania comes to The Anvil, Basingstoke, on Sunday (6pm), with Swift Eras – The Ultimate Tribute. An award-winning extravaganza that pays tribute to one of the leading contemporary recording artists of our time returns after a sell-out performance last year.. Katy Ellis a self-obsessed 'Swiftie', with an incredible live band and dancers that promise to deliver the most authentic recreation of a Taylor Swift show you will ever see. The production has already taken fans across the world by storm, and features all of Taylor's much loved hits, including Shake It Off, Blank Space, Love Story, You Belong With Me, Look What You Made Me Do, I Knew You Were Trouble, and many, many more. https://www.anvilarts.org.uk/events/taylormania
Open Studios
OPEN Studios artists open their doors to visitors in West Berks & North Hants until Monday, May 26. To get an idea of which you’d like to visit, take a look in the Gallery at The Base where the flagship INSIGHT exhibition shows a sample of work from each of the 100 artists participating artists and makers. Explore the guide and website too. A map included in the guide and a larger version at The BASE shows where each artist is located.
The Baddies
The Baddies is a wickedly hilarious adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s smash-hit story. It comes to the Corn Exchange from Tuesday to Thursday next week. They're funny...they're silly...and they're really, really bad. Meet the very worst Baddies in the world! Don’t you dare to come too close to a witch, a troll and an ancient ghost! The Baddies love being bad. They roar, spook and cast wicked spells to try and scare a girl out of her wits…who will succeed? Or perhaps the girl is braver than they think… With songs by Joe Stilgoe (Zog and Zog and the Flying Doctors), TA laugh-out-loud riot for all the family. https://cornexchangenew.com/events/the-baddies
Newbury Spring Festival
Tonight (Thursday) Newbury Spring Festival audiences can choose between the dynamic young dancers of Ballet Central at the Corn Exchange and the superb Fantasia Orchestra performing at St Lawrence Church in Hungerford. Jazz returns tomorrow with the Finn Carter Jazz Quartet performing at the Corn Exchange at 12.30pm, followed in the evening by folk star Seth Lakeman’s much-anticipated concert. Alternatively, Douai Abbey in Woolhampton will provide the perfect setting for Ex Cathedra’s moving performance of Rachmaninov’s Vespers. The Festival’s final day on Saturday opens with a compelling morning talk at the Corn Exchange at 11am. The British Atom Bomb Project. In this illuminating talk, Professor Tim Palmer CBE FRS, Royal Society Research Professor Emeritus at the University of Oxford, discusses how British scientists led the way in the early years of the Second World War, only to see their progress lost due to administrative failures. With wide-ranging insight, he explores the scientific breakthroughs, political missteps, and long-term consequences of Britain’s role in atomic history. The Festival then closes with two exceptional concerts. At the Corn Exchange, O Moon of Alabama presents an intimate Kurt Weill cabaret blending music and storytelling. Meanwhile, at St Nicolas Church, Beethoven’s monumental Missa Solemnis will be performed by the Newbury Spring Festival Chorus and a distinguished line-up of soloists, conducted by Tom Primrose. Widely regarded as one of Beethoven’s supreme achievements, this sacred work is a deeply personal expression of faith and humanity, an ambitious and fitting finale to the 2024 Festival. Many events offer free tickets for under 30s For full listings and to book tickets, visit www.newburyspringfestival.org.uk
