West Berkshire band youngest to perform where Queen drummer Roger Taylor and Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins once played

A young group of lads from across West Berkshire are taking the rock scene by storm, performing at events all over the country.

Beyond the Sons, comprising five 12- 14 year-olds, is currently one of the youngest bands in the UK to book gigs at festivals and venues across the UK.

The young musicians, who are due to play the main stage at the Newbury Real Ale Festival, also caught the eye of rock icons Shinedown and My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero for covers of their songs which received hundreds of likes on Twitter.

Their third ‘proper’ gig was at prestigious Southampton venue The Brook, on June 23, where the boys headlined a stage that once hosted rock giants from Taylor Hawkins and Roger Taylor to Bring Me The Horizon, whose drummer, Jordan Fish, is from Newbury.

Manager Leo Westby, who also oversaw the growth of West Berkshire’s The Mini Band, said he was “very proud” of the level of professionalism the boys display on-stage.

“It was incredible,” he laughed as he explained how the boys drew ‘oh my God’s’ during a sound check before their Southampton gig.

“We were surprised at just how at home they were on a big stage.”

He said that it was initially kept a secret that a “kid band” was playing the gig, Sofar Sounds, which traditionally doesn’t disclose its acts to audiences.

They were the youngest band to ever play a Sofar Sounds gig.

Despite the anticipation and slight apprehension of bringing such a young band to such a huge stage, the boys brought a young teenage spirit and were met with a standing ovation and encore.

Mr Westby said: “They just went for it and the crowd went nuts.

“I was a shocker. These young kids got on stage, got the audience involved and got a standing ovation. It was really exciting.

“They put on such a big show.”

He continued: “They know what they have to do. They just go into music mode and become a proper rock band.”

The boys also drew a “big crowd” at the Reading Chilli Festival, also played by The Mini Band in the past, which Mr Westby called “a lot of fun”.

He said: “I can’t believe it is all happening again, it is really amazing.

“We’ll only push it as far as [the band] wants to, it’s up to them.

“I am extremely proud of them and how they conduct themselves professionally on stage.”

Mr Westby spoke positively about the bands future and its new projects and releases.

He said: “They’re recording music videos, they’re starting to write songs so we have got some great tunes coming out. Really good, original stuff.

“They’re cracking on with their original material, not only can they play covers to a high level but they can write.”

The band recently released a music video of its own version of Afterlife by metal band Avenged Sevenfold.