As the year comes to a close, we’re going to round off with the highlights of the year and some of the official photographs of the event!
A massive thank you to everyone who showed up to support, and to our photographer Molly – you can contact her via instagram!
INTRODUCING…YOUR WINNER!
After the fairest way to determine the winner, we landed on TARA DEANE of Maidenhead. The decision was made from a combination of online voting and judges votes.
Overall, Tara won based on her outstanding work in running and placing artists at local events, hosting her podcast Inside The Music Scene and for her own development as an artist, despite facing many challenges in her personal life.
Massive congratulations Tara!
ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS
As the community grows, it was important to showcase the progress we’ve made in a year since establishing the brand. If you would like a quick summary of the Artistree vision you can find it here.
Here’s a quick overview of where we are:
- Berkshire Artistree now ranks in the top 10 of active searches for live music on Google
- We have built a growing community through social media and newsletter sign ups
- Several local artists have gone full time in 2025 and we have been able to support them with paid shows
- Successfully placed acts to support celeb headliners in 2026
- Placed Berkshire musicians to record at the esteemed Metropolis Studios in London. This included a master class from Morris Pleasure, who was Michael Jackson’s pianist and one of the founding members of Earth, Wind and Fire.
LIVE MUSIC
The Artistree was started to showcase and elevate some of Berkshire’s own incredible talent, so we put on several acts from Berkshire, including previous winner Nicole Allan who performed some of her new smash hits, including Find Me, Light Should Stay and Madness Of Money.
We also debuted a new band Caviar, who have been formed through Artsitree connections. We helped to match up singer Robbie Culley with guitarists Max and Josh, Andy on Bass and drummer Kenny. (see photos below)
Honourable mentions
Alongside our nominees, we felt it necessary to shout out a few of the community for their actions and achievements in 2025, such as:
- Quitting work and going full time in music
- Tributes to Sophie Sheehan (BA award winner 2023) and Bruce Hutton (father of the founder)
- Members who helped to keep the community secure
- Acts who didn’t quite make nominations
Thank you again to everyone who came down to support, see the images from below!
Photos by @mollycoker.photography
A NOTE FROM YOUR EDITOR
Stuart Hutton (Aka One Eyed Man)
And that’s a wrap! 2025 was an amazing year for live music in Berkshire and I’m so proud to be a part of it. Hopefully 2026 will bring new opportunities, new music and new reasons to shout about our community!
A very merry Christmas to you and yours, see you in the new year!