I’ve been going to gigs for almost 40 years and a significant number of those gigs have taken place in small local grassroots venues. From much missed venues like Newcastle’s Broken Doll and Nottingham’s Narrowboat through to the legendary Hull Adelphi and Sheffield Leadmill, and now onto Reading’s Facebar, I have spent countless hours watching musicians entertain, thrill and occasionally shock their audiences.

The last week in January is Independent Venue Week and is a celebration of those local grassroots venues. This year 214 venues across the UK took part with a week-long programme of live music, comedy performances and film screenings. With so much going on, it would have been rude not to take in a few gigs.

Tuesday saw a trip to Reading’s Facebar for the first of four gigs that local promoters Club Velocity were putting as part of IVW. We’re in the smaller of the Facebar’s two rooms where the stage is just a raised seated area. The lighting may be rudimental but the sound is nearly always excellent. Up first is Jess Tuthill with some impressive ukulele playing. Add in Jess’s warm velvety tones with more than a dose of melancholy, and you have a truly captivating performer. Plus, it’s not often that you get a song about a computer game, never mind two of them, so Jess’s songs about the plots of ‘The Last of Us’ are much appreciated. I can highly recommend the ‘A Beautiful Disaster’ album.  Jess Tuthill - Jan 25 Puma Theory are one of Reading’s up and coming bands, and this is my first time catching them. They’re already developing a bit of a fan base and it is easy to see why. The singles ‘Hit & Run’, ‘Foolish Boy’ and ‘Sobering Lights’ all sound huge. This is big melodic indie rock coupled with Jacob’s introspective vocals – it’s all very encouraging for the future. Puma Theory - Jan 25 Gemma Rogers is already firm favourite at the Facebar having played here many times. Coming across like Lily Allen with added bite, Gemma is as enticing as always. Opening song ‘Stop!’ is already a bona fide classic as is ‘Song for the Cities’. This is an enjoyable performance with the new material further enhancing Gemma’s songwriting credentials. Fan favourite ‘My Idea of Fun’ sees a bottle of spiced rum being passed around as Gemma dances with the crowd.  It’s a fitting conclusion to an excellent night showcasing three very different artists. Gemma Rogers - Jan 25
Friday night and we’re heading into that there London for pizzas and music at Tufnell Park’s Aces n Eights. The venue is one of our favourite London haunts and its cosy basement venue is ideal for intimate gigs. Tonight, Runnin Blue are putting on Paul-Ronney Angel from everyone’s favourite Bourbon-Soaked Gypsy Blues Bop ‘N’ Stroll band, The Urban Voodoo Machine.

But first we have Matty James Cassidy who is no stranger to Aces n Eights, having played here multiple times either solo or with his sometime partner in crime, Tyla from Dogs D’amour. Matty is an imposing presence but is impeccably charming with his dulcet tones enchanting all. Ever the raconteur, Matty’s tales never outstay their welcome and when added to his collection of rabble-rousing folk rock songs, it makes for a cracking start to the night. Singalongs such as ‘Same Old Me (Brand New You)’ are well received as is the version of ‘Not Fade Away’ with Runnin Blues’ own Neil Packman on harmonica duties. Matty James Cassidy - Jan 25 Coming on as a masked troubadour, Paul-Ronney Angel is a physical performer milking every drop of anticipation out of the audience. The spaghetti western sounding ‘One Ghost Town’ sets the scene for a night of bawdy and raucous tunes. There’s a mixture of material from both The Urban Voodoo Machine (‘Cheers for the Tears’ and ‘Orphan’s Lament’ being highlights) and his own back catalogue plus a few songs to wet our appetites for new albums coming from both later this year. Paul-Ronney Angel - Jan 25
Of the new songs, my favourite had to be ‘He’s a Fraud’ which had an almost Bond-like theme feel to it – I can picture a debauched Maurice Binder inspired title sequence to go with it. ‘Thank God This Bar is Closing’ along with the tale behind it is brilliant and peaks with a suitably alcohol fuelled singalong. Finishing the set, a very poignant ‘Green, Green Grass of Home’ is followed by a welcome return of ‘Love Song 666’. I’ve never had a bad night at Aces n Eights and tonight was no different. Paul-Ronney Angel - Jan 25 It's Sunday night and we are back at the Facebar for the final of Club Velocity’s IVW gigs. Tom Webber has been making a name for himself over the past three years having supported the likes of Nick Lowe, Richard Hawley and Suzanne Vega. He’s already made his Glastonbury debut amongst many other festival appearances.

There’s no support tonight and it’s an early start (and finish). Nonetheless there are plenty of people here to see Tom and a good number seem to know all of his songs word for word. Inhabiting the same territory as the likes of Jake Bugg and Paulo Nutini, many of Tom songs have an instant classic feel to them whether they are channelling the soulful charm of Sam Cooke or Johnny Cash’s country outlaw. Songs such as ‘Keep Calling’ and ‘Martha’ ooze quality and deserve to be heard by more people. Tom Webber - Feb 25 For ‘Face in the Crowd’ Tom does exactly that and sings the whole song in the middle of the crowd. ‘This Time’ and the rockabilly stomp of ‘Howling at the Moon’ demonstrate Tom’s versality. Ending the night with the swooning ‘I’m Yours’ (with added coda of ‘You’re Gorgeous’), it has been a consummate performance showing how far Tom has come in the past few years.  Surely it can’t be long before Tom breaks through into the nation’s consciousness. Tom Webber - Feb 25
It’s seeing artists such as Tom Webber playing local grass roots venue on the way to greatness that makes this all worthwhile. Watching a local band develop from playing to four people in a forgotten social club to selling out venues in a couple of years is still one of the most rewarding musical odysseys you can take. You can keep your soulless arenas with their putrid beers and rip off merch fees – this is where the real magic starts.

Tom Webber - Feb 25