Readipop Festival

29/05/2026

Who better to have join in the fun at Readipop presents: XOX 2026 w/ Movement81, Mentat, Martin Christie (founder of EMOMs) & more on Saturday 13th June than the one-and-only Martin Christie, founder of the Electronic Music Open Mic (EMOM) movement, who will be performing and co-hosting on the night at Oakford Social Club.

Martin Christie is a musician and writer specialising in exploring sung/spoken word with electronic and experimental music. He has released numerous albums and also founded the EMOM movement in early 2017 in Manchester. The approach came out of attending traditional open mics and a feeling that there was no proper place for electronic/experimental musicians to meet and play their creations. Martin has also written several books including Electronic Music Travels which describes the experience of running and visiting various electronic music nights up and down the country.

We feel very privileged to have him on our stacked line-up, both hosting and performing on Saturday 13th June alongside Movement81, Mentat, Bloco Electrohed, Sophie Sirota & Spryt Electra.

Get free tickets now to guarantee your gig spot: citizenticket.com/events/readipop-3/readipop-presents-xox-2026-at-oakford-social-w-movement81-martin-christie-founder-of-emoms-and-more/

26/05/2026

The countdown is on for Readipop presents: XOX 2026 w/ Movement81, Mentat, Martin Christie (founder of EMOMs) & more at Oakford Social Club on Saturday 13th June so we’re highlighting the hugely talented live acts performing, starting with Swansea based headliners Movement81 who play their debut Reading set on the night!��Movement81 are an AV-driven electronic duo blending nostalgic synth textures with futuristic
club energy. Their sound draws from 80s indie-synth, 90s dance, and minimal techno, merging
resampled material with original production to create immersive, emotionally charged live sets.�
Formed by two practicing Fine Artists, Movement81’s work often extends into multi-sensory, interactive installation – bridging the gap between dancefloor and gallery. 2026 sees the duo exploring a new hybrid live setup including Eurorack modular, hardware and software synths
synchronised to a new visual set that reflects their conceptual and sonic approach.
�Since signing to Petite Victory Collective in 2023, the Movement81 have supported Plaid and
Max Cooper, featured on BBC Introducing in Wales and gained BBC Radio 1 play on Jaguar’s Introducing Dance with their single releases Gift and Whitewall.

Don’t miss their special headline set at XOX 2026, free tickets available now from citizenticket.com/events/readipop-3/readipop-presents-xox-2026-at-oakford-social-w-movement81-martin-christie-founder-of-emoms-and-more

21/05/2026

This Saturday (23rd May) our good friends will be in the below with special guest, techno & house legend . Expect great sound and vibes (just like at their Readipop Fiesta stage takeover) plus plenty of underground heat across the night from residents & Alex Darby, previous residents at Checkpoint Charlie and Fez Club respectively. Final tickets available from Skiddle 🔥💃🕺

skiddle.com/whats-on/Reading/Firefly-Cellar-Bar/Vaultage/42082158/

08/05/2026

This weekend, our friends Heavy Pop host their excellent annual multi-venue, new music focussed Are You Listening? Festival across Reading town centre. Previous Readipop Festival and Fiesta performers including Jewels Music Puma Theory The Borough Uncle Peanut Bone Idle Grace Pounds and Tigers on Vaseline play sets alongside a host of fresh talent from across the UK. Tickets are still available from areyoulistening.org.uk, see you down the front!

05/05/2026

Readipop music events are back! After a break while we moved back into our newly expanded studios (more news on that soon!), Team Readipop are back with our first major event since Readipop Fiesta and, best of all, tickets are free!�

Readipop presents: XOX 2026 at Oakford Social Club (right next to Reading Station) on Saturday 13th June will feature six incredible live electronic music performers from across the UK alongside live visuals, all lovingly curated by Readipop's XOX & RG EMOM teams. Headliners Movement81 from Swansea combine indie synth and dance music with immersive visuals and our special guest performer and co-host will be Martin Christie (founder of the Electronic Music Open Mic movement). Mentat is a London-based EMOM performer making improvised and ever-evolving live techno and progressive house whilst Bloco Electrohed are a live electronic drumming supergroup made up of Readipop’s very own Electrohed, Projected Form & BIGBOXlittlebox. Sophie Sirota creates evolving ambient soundscapes using strings, vocals, effects and live looping; Welsh synth-pop artist Spryt Electra brings analogue warmth and DAWless live energy rooted in Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Ladytron.

The night will also include the premiere screening of “A Year in the Life of RG EMOM” mini documentary by BAFTA winning filmmaker Matt Hulse plus DJ Pete Wheeler plays electronic classics for the Oakford dancefloor after the live sets finish at 11pm until 1am.

Free tickets available now from link in our bio (limited capacity so grab them early!): citizenticket.com/events/readipop-3/readipop-presents-xox-2026-at-oakford-social-w-movement81-martin-christie-founder-of-emoms-and-more. We kick off at 6pm and the first live act begins at 6.30pm

Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/93XvByf4p

08/10/2025

Riverbeats 2025 was an unforgettable weekend this summer in Reading where proudly collaborated with to fill the Oracle Riverside with music, arts and fun for all ages! This aftermovie has brought all the great memories flooding back and reminded us how special those two weeks in August were. We really want to thank The Oracle for having us and our creative partners & for helping us deliver workshops and immersive walkabout performances. Thank you also to everyone who attended and performed at Riverbeats 2025, we couldn’t have done it without you! 🎶🎨🎭💃🏻🕺🏽🙌

🎥:

29/09/2025

"Fantastic day" (sung in the style of Haircut 100)! Another good review of Readipop Fiesta, this time from Reading Indie Life.

Also, more positive words on Fiesta acts from RaW Sounds.Today who feature three more performers in this week's playlist: www.rdg.today/raw-sounds-today-featuring-stealing-sheep-aine-deane-the-outliers/

A fantastic day was had by all at the Reading University Student’s Union on Saturday the 13th of September courtesy of the wonderful local charity Readipop.

24/09/2025

Tomorrow evening (Thursday 25th September), we restart our monthly XOX Presents Reading Electronic Music Open Mic sessions at . Running from 7pm, there will be live sets from seven electronic acts across the evening alongside bespoke visuals and ambient music between sets from Soxsa. If you caught the Reading EMOM takeover at Readipip Fiesta earlier this month, you’ll love these sessions which take place in the fourth Thursday of the month (23rd October and 20th November) 🎛️🎹🔥🙌 Entry is free but arrive earlier, we’re expecting a busy one!

22/09/2025

A second selection of Readipop Fiesta 2025 photos from Andrew Merritt, taking us across many of the live performances at Reading Students' Union. A nice visual reminder of how many fantastic sets we got to enjoy across the day and night. If you came along and haven’t already done so, please fill out the audience survey here: illuminate-data.org.uk/survey/gwrgmv

📸: Andrew Merritt Photography

18/09/2025

Now the dust has settled from Saturday we’re starting to look forward again. If you did attend Readipop Fiesta, we’d be very grateful if you could complete our audience survey. This helps us both with our planning for future events and to inform the Arts Council England what the overall impact has been. Please either scan the QR code above or head to the link below, many thanks from us all at Team Readipop! 🙏❤️

https://www.illuminate-data.org.uk/survey/gwrgmv?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwM5ExdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp6oiGasmVu5NL67Dxau27qpefoR5omOj07zJT5TboWjhm6zPBWXUeeD8FTOJ_aem_1rCzfmQZB_9bJpvtWATAFw