Reading has had several Fringe Festivals over the years. The first Reading Fringe Festival was started in 2005 in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, after a group of several musicians,

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and promoters decided to showcase Reading's musical talent in the week running up to the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

. The concept was to bring the local promoters and

venues Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

together for one week of gigs promoted by the

fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

committee. Unfortunately, it ran for a few years and decided to not continue the concept. In 2012, three Reading enthusiasts, with a background in the arts decided to start up a new Reading Fringe Festival. It was started by Thomas Sellwood, a playwright and director, Gemma Wells, a marketeer and Zsuzsi Lindsay, a producer and project manager. The first Reading Fringe Festival under new manager kicked off in 2013, with nine venues, 20 acts over five days. It is now in its seventh year and works with 18 venues, over 100 events and runs over 10 days. It has won a number of accolades since starting including, Reading Cultural Contribution Award and the Pride of Reading Awards, the Alt Reading Festival of the Year Nominee, Festival of the Year at the Reading Cultural Awards, and they have also been nominated for the Queen's Service Award.

External links

Can you help the Reading Fringe Festival?

Reading Fringe Festival 2007

BBC - Berkshire - Entertainment - Reading Fringe Festival

Richfield Avenue » 27 - 29 August 2021

Reading Fringe Festival
Reading and Leeds Festivals Music festivals in Berkshire Rock festivals in England Fringe festivals in the United Kingdom Music festivals established in 2005 Theatre festivals in England {{music-festival-stub