Are You Listening? Festival

About Are You Listening?

Reading’s town-centre venues take Are You Listening? 2027 on Saturday 8 May 2027 for a one-day indie/alternative music festival. It launched in 2013 and has operated as a multi-venue event since the start. Venues sit in the town centre.

The festival books local artists alongside touring acts, with a community link that included a ten-year charity partnership with Reading Mencap. In 2023 it was shortlisted as a Grassroots Champion nominee at the first national LIVE Awards; in 2024 it won Cultural Contribution at the Pride of Reading Awards.

Lineup and Programme

The programme spans indie/alternative rock, electronic and dance, post-punk and punk, plus hip hop and rap. Live sets and DJ sets run alongside an art exhibition/art auction, festival merch and town-centre food/drink stops.

Participating venues include St Laurence Church, Purple Turtle, Face Bar, Milk Bar, Sub 89 and South St Arts Centre, with the AYL? Hub / Box Office at Market Place Square.

Who Is It For?

AYL? draws a grassroots live-music audience with a strong Reading focus. The event is mixed-age, with the free AYL? Hub open to all ages and wristband-only venues running their own entry rules.

Age rules shift by room. St Laurence Church, Sub 89 and Face Bar are 14+, with under-18s accompanied by an adult; Purple Turtle is 14+ with an adult until 7pm and then 18+; Milk Bar is 18+. Challenge 25 applies and proof of age may be required.

The Venue and Site

Market Place Square is the anchor. The AYL? Hub / Box Office handles wristband exchange there, at Reading RG1 2EQ, about five minutes from Reading Train Station.

The town-centre site links venues that are up to 0.7 miles apart at the furthest point. Accessible toilets are listed at St Laurence Church, Purple Turtle and Sub 89, with St Laurence Church one minute from the AYL? Hub. Assistance dogs are welcome and a free Personal Assistant ticket is available on request. The AYL? Hub has no toilets onsite.

Travel to Are You Listening?

The festival is centred on Reading town centre, with the AYL? Hub / Box Office at Market Place Square, Reading RG1 2EQ.

• Rail: Reading Train Station is about five minutes’ walk from the AYL? Hub / Box Office.
• Road: access routes around the town-centre site include A329 and A327 (London Street), with named streets including Friar Street, Gun Street, Station Road, Blagrave Street and South Street.
• Parking: Reading has three Park & Ride options and paid town-centre car parks.

Participating venues are up to 0.7 miles apart at the furthest point.