The best haunt in town

Published 30 Jul 2010 09:00 0 Comments

The Outside:Inside Festival launches in and around venues in Reading tomorrow (Saturday) with a host of musical marvels taking to the stage.

The opening day has performances at Broad Street Mall from DJ Derek, Scubaroots, Big Trains Hayma and Ibetya plus many more, from noon-8pm. Entry is free.

The month-long festival also features a film exhibition. On Saturday there will be hour-long showings of The Short Film Exhibition in Bar Mango at 2pm and 5pm.

Entry is free and audiences can see the best in short films right in their home town. For more visit www.outsideinsidefestival.com

**Amy's Ghost interview**

IT HAS been an exciting and successful year for one of the biggest bands in Reading.

Amy's Ghost have gone from strength to strength with the release of their debut album on Myspace and a string of successful launch nights.

Now the band are taking to the stage twice at the Outside:Inside festival, which starts tomorrow (Saturday), and have even been invited to host their own mini-festival.

The band comprises Amy Barton, Mic Harrison, Michael (Tiki) Thomas, Thom Hammond and Tim Perkins, and the band name hopes to give a band feel as well as accompanying the haunting sound of their music.

Vocalist Amy Barton said: "We sort of strive to be very DIY. The nights that we put on are completely self-funded. We're not looking for a big break. Big record label offers are a bit of a rip off for what you get.

"If you work hard you end up having more say on your music. We're having the best fun."

As well as performing an electric set on the opening day of the festival at 3.30pm on Saturday, Amy's Ghost will host their own event at O'Neills pub in Friar Street, Reading, from noon on Saturday, August 14. Entry to both gigs is free.

Amy said: "We've taken over the pub, building a stage and prettying it all up. We have a henna lady coming to do tattoos. She was doing them in London for just £4 and they were amazing.

"We're also having live artists painting canvases. The proceeds will go to the artists who painted them. It's quite nice to see people expressing themselves under the same roof."

Amy's Ghost will be accompanied on the night by other bands including fellow Reading band Sister Gracie.

There will also be a DJ playing tunes to dance to, like James Brown, well into the evening.

The theme of this year's festival is combining musicians from the area and from around the world with acts flying in from Israel, America, Nigeria and Romania.

Amy said: "I think it's great. The idea is to make Reading more cultural and encourage people to think that it is a nice place to live. Want to make it so people like the idea of coming to Reading."

Amy's Ghost have built up a loyal following in the area over the past year and love performing to their home crowd.

Amy said: "We feel very supported in Reading. People are harder to win over when they don't really know you.

"There are great bands in Reading. I think that there's this little community of bands that support each other."

Visit www.amysghost.com

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This article appeared in Villager 29 Jul 10

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