History of Arlington Arts

Opened in October 2006 by KT Tunstall, our pedigree as a music venue was set in stone almost immediately.

Initially intended as a school resource that could be hired to the local community, Arlington Arts has grown to be considered one of the leading music venues in the South of England. All the while, we have continued to provide support to Mary Hare School and its wider activities with our profits from live events, community projects and corporate hires being donated to the national school for the deaf.

Our reputation for live music, should not overshadow the work that we do in presenting high quality visual art, theatre, comedy and family entertainment too. In fact, it is this eye for quality that sits at the heart of our programming strategy, whether we are getting behind brand new theatre or bringing some of the world’s best musicians to Newbury.

Here are just some of the highlights:

2007
Seasick Steve, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Russell Howard, Red Shift Theatre Company

2008
Brendan Burns, Michael McIntyre, Russell Kane, Bernie Marsden, Bob Log II, Michael Brennand-Wood, Joe Wilkinson

2009
Tom Hingley, Patti Plinko, Rhod Gilbert, Big Boss Man, Karima Francis, Lucy Porter, Jim Bob (Carter USM), Holly Walsh, Imelda May, Adrian Edmondson (and the Bad Shepherds), T Model Ford, Jon Allen, Wilko Johnson, Lou Rhodes (Lamb)

2010
Phantom Limb, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Tony McPhee and the Groundhogs, Dry the River, Oysterband, Gyles Brandreth, Robin Ince, Geno Washington, The Tiger Lillies, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Alex Horne, The Hamsters, Tom Wrigglesworth, Andrew Maxwell, Pama International, Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards, Bongolian

2011
Stephen K Amos, Jo Hamilton, Shlomo, Emily Smith, Blackeyed Theatre, Imran Yusuf, Gilad Atzman, Thea Gilmore, Samuel James, Show of Hands, Three Bonzos and a Piano, John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, Devon Sproule, The Blues Band, PP Arnold, Barry and Stuart, Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones, Harry the Piano, One-Man Star Wars Trilogy, Hot Club of Cowtown, Liane Carroll, Daniel Sloss

2012
Dodgy, The Pretty Things, Sean Taylor, Soweto Kinch, Po’ Girl, Adam Kay, Skip “Little Axe” Macdonald, Afterwords, Davina and the Vagabonds, Glenn Tilbrook, Mica Paris, This is the Kit, Vintage Trouble, Spider John Koerner and Chip Taylor Smith, Dr Brown, ahab, Norman Lovett, Marcus Bonfanti, Sean Hughes, Oli Brown, Cerys Matthews

2013
Livewire, Barry Cryer and Ronnie Golden, The Old Tire Swingers, Nerina Pallot, Justin Currie (Del Amitri), Mark Steel, Buddy Whittington, Ian Siegal, Colin Hay, Les Enfants Terribles, Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou, The Christians, Dick Gaughan, Mud Morganfield

2014
Ridgeway Fire, Frozen Light, King King, Arthur Smith, Weeping Spoon, Glen Matlock, Polly and Billets Doux, The Handsome Family, Moulettes, The Blockheads, Lil’ Jimmy Reed, Lulo Reinhardt, Axis of Awesome, Danny Bryant, Jo Harman, Juan Martin, Tortoise in a Nutshell, Danny and the Champions of the World, Nell Bryden, Sandi Thom, Lady Nade, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Poozies, Clout Theatre, Matt Schofield

2015
Beth Gibbons, Gameshow Theatre, Cara Dillon, The Little Unsaid, Seth Lakeman, Caddy Cooper, Roving Crows, Jonny and the Baptists, Ferocious Dog, Creedence Clearwater Revived, Larry McCray, Voodoo Room, Moreland and Arbuckle, Billy Boy Arnold, Badac Theatre, The Rails, Roachford, Simpson and Flemons, Stopgap Dance, The Shee, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Tom Robinson Band, Hugh Cornwell, Flabbergast Theatre

2016
Kast off Kinks, 3Fall Dance, Boo Hewerdine, Tim Fitzhigham, Blackbeard’s Tea Party, BAC on Tour, Eddi Reader, Martin Turner, The Icicle Works, Hunter and the Bear, Nell Bryden, Omid Djalili, 9Bach, Tashi Lhunpo Monks, The Sons of Pitches, The Newgrass Cutters, Graham Parker and Brinsley Schwarz, Heidi Talbot, Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart, Smoking Apples

2017
Eric Sardinas, Police Dog Hogan, Nine Below Zero, The Grahams, Paper Balloon, Oye Santana, Robben Ford, Eric Gales, Kid Carpet, Nick Schlee, Lady Maisery, Sean Kempton, Hambone, Sean Kelly, Martin and Eliza Carthy, Catfish, Stevie Nimmo, Big Boy Bloater, Miles and Erica (The Wonderstuff), Elles Bailey, Case Hardin, The Thinking Drinkers, Simon Yates

This is not an exhaustive list and we have tried not to repeat annual or bi-annual favourites such as Ballet Theatre UK, Whole Lotta Led, etc. Nor have we included many welcome returns from Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, whose rise we have championed for almost a decade and who played a storming set at our tenth birthday party in July 2016.

We also acknowledge the work of the many community groups that have performed here over the years, with young people taking their first steps in performing arts, school plays and groups of grown ups coming together just for the love of it. We have always been immensely proud to be able to support their achievements.