When we first designed Tea Monkey…we had a huge iPod on the wall where people could select and play their own music...but then we wondered what Mrs Smith might think of Kings of Leon or Bethan might think of Madame Butterfly. We are not saying they wouldn’t like it...but the point is that music is such a subjective thing that maybe it would be better to let people choose what they want to listen to rather than it be thrust upon them...so to speak!

That’s the reason why we have put together a special library of music - not a dull static library that's put togther by us and forgotton about, no, it's a live and evolving picture of our customer's music loves.

If you send us a message via our contact form, telling us what music you would like to see in the library, we will do our best to add it. Over time we hope this will turn into a patchwork quilt of our customer's musical taste. And more importantly, it means you will have the music you want, on tap, when you come for a cuppa.

To kick us off our staff have chosen music from British indie legends, British Sea Power; up and coming Bristol rocksters, Band of Skulls; and from Kentucky hell raisers, Cage the Elephant; enjoy!

When you are starting a band one of the most important aspects is exposure. You need to get your music out there so it can be heard!

Tea monkey is proud to promote local produce and industry, and we want to extend that into promoting the best in local talent too. So if you are an unsigned band that's local to any of our stores, simply bring in a CD with your current tracks in MP3 format, along with a couple of digital photos and a short summary of who you are and what you are about, and we'll do our best to add you to our music library.

As our stores roll out across the country that could mean national exposure for your band and sound. Who knows who could end up having a tea whilst listening to your tracks!