This Weekend's Events (11th to 13th May)

Hi Everyone

A funny thing happened this week.  In the middle of the night, my wife woke me up to say she thought she could hear burglars.  I dutifully went downstairs to investigate, it was then I realised that I didn't have a wife and I raced back upstairs only to find that my bed and my telly had been stolen... Oops!

Anyhow, now that I no longer have anything in my bedroom worth stealing, it's time to let you know what's happening at the Rising Sun this weekend

On Friday we bring you THE BIG UNTIDY NIGHT OUT

The Big Untidy Night Out specialises in bringing new unusual talent into the Rising Sun.  Singers, songwriters, poets, punk outfits, ambient experimentalists, sensational cellists and demonic banjo-players, the possibilities are endless.

This time around, the Big Untidy would like to welcome you to a night with a line-up that's looking really fabulous in a mellow acoustic and artistic sense. 

THE PAWNBROKER produce soundtracks for films both real and imagined. Pete and Ben bring their considerable talents together to produce an atmospheric tour de force, filled with emotion and a sense of occasion. This will be perfectly suited to our intimate space at the The Rising Sun. They have played with Nils Frahm, Seamus Fogarty and Tom Brosseau. We are really excited to announce that they will be premiering a new collaborative audiovisual project with filmmaker Mike Taylor entitled 'Triangle'.

JOHN FORRESTER is a talented acoustic guitarist and song-writer. John is currently touring his new album ‘Restless’ and his current single 'Butterfly Catcher'. A charismatic performer and former member of folk-rock behemoths ‘Pressgang,’ John is always welcome back at the Untidy and always puts in a great gig for us.

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED are a young 5-piece folk/roots band from here in Berkshire. They draw on a number of influences in order to produce a diverting, interesting and energetic live show. Once again they will be fabulous to see in our small but bijou venue.. 

We're open at 7.30pm and it'll only cost you a paltry £5 on the door

Saturday daytime sees the return of the YELLOW TEAPOT CAFE

The Yellow Teapot Cafe might do everything a cafe might do. You can buy tea, coffee and soft drinks, biscuit and cake. But we are an event, a haven for those who like to relax, look at books, be creative and drink tea.

We're open from 1pm to 3pm and it'll coat you nothing to come in!

On Saturday evening, we bring you another TRIBUTE NIGHT

Anyone who has been to a Rising Sun Tribute Night will already know the deal. Every three months we pay homage to a much-loved band or artist.  Everyone picks a song or two, practices them for a bit, then gets together again on Tribute Night to play them to a crowd - always with fascinating results. The next Tribute Night’s hero is announced at the end of the evening. It’s a simple but winning formula and is silly amounts of fun.

This time the Tribute Night train pulls into the US suburb better known as BILLY JOEL

He wrote some flippin’ corkers, did our Billy, drawing on a rich musical heritage including rock’n’roll, blues, soul, jazz, classical, doo-wop, Broadway, The Beatles, and Tin Pan Alley, riddled with hooks and melodies, and painting lyrical vignettes of everyman working life in the US. In some ways, he was like Springsteen with a piano.

Billy’s songs lend themselves obligingly to all sorts of imaginative interpretations and innovative rearrangements. Want to know more or want to play at a future night? Throw your virtual hat into the ring by sending an email to TributeNight@hotmail.co.uk.

The date is another slight deviation from the regular pattern, swerving Reading Beer Festival, which often herds up many of our regular performers for its music programme.

We’ll be open at 8pm and as usual, there’s no charge on the door, but we suggest you keep £5 or more aside for when the friendly people with hats circulate the room, the bar, the hallway, the porch, the little bit of pavement out the front, and the smoking pen out the back. 

And that's not all, because on Sunday, we have something new in the shape of THE DIVERSITY SOCIAL

A brand new social club for adults with mobility issues. The Diversity Social is run by Steph, who has been a Rising Sun volunteer for many years, and Luisa from local arts group the Messy Club!

We're open from 7pm to 9.30pm, and it's absolutely FREE!

That’s everything for another week, just to remind you that we are, as always, at 30 Silver Street, Reading, RG1 2ST (If you pop it into your satnav or Google, we shall magically appear!)

Have a nice weekend!