Published: Wednesday, 10th March, 2010 1:55pm

Banding together

by Sarah Stead

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Representing: Sixty Watt Bayonets were the only Reading band to play the festival in 2009 and performed on the BBC Introducing stage.

READING Festival is undoubtedly one of the best things about the town. A vast number of people descend on Reading each August, bringing the world's media - and spending money - with them.

The festival is one of the country's biggest, and one of the planet's biggest, and the town's capability in hosting it is undoubtedly proof that Reading fully deserves city status.

Huge bands play the festival - but what are our local bands getting out of the massive musical opportunity on the doorstep?

Well, historically, not so much. Last year Sixty Watt Bayonets were the only Reading band to play the festival after they were chosen through BBC Introducing's rigorous selection process.

Pete Doyle, who runs the Reading Rock Academy, hopes to change that this year.

He is starting a campaign to beef up the local representation at the festival, and told The Guide: "With my Reading Rock Academy hat on I want to encourage Reading bands, and teaching and learning. But also as a local person I would love to see more Reading bands make it big.

"We host this worldwide famous festival and a lot of people come into Reading for that weekend and then go away, and I think we should be giving something back to the Reading bands.

"I just set up a Facebook group asking the question, 'Who wants to see more Reading bands at the Festival?', and there's been an amazing response.

"There's definitely a strength of feeling around the young people of Reading and they are the people who buy the tickets."

Nobody from organisers Festival Republic was available for comment as The Guide went to press.

Find out more at http://bit.ly/bBKZck and read more in The Guide as the campaign progresses.