ONE of the most exciting guitarists in Britain is set to blow the roof off Kendal’s Brewery Arts Centre.

Chantel McGregor says she is really looking forward to playing the venue’s Malt Room on Thursday, April 11.

Taking her inspiration from Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, the virtuoso blues musician is the natural heir to Joe Bonamassa, with whom she has toured twice.

And she told the Gazette that she could not wait to perform at South Lakeland’s premier destination for both up-and-coming and established acts.

“I chose to play at The Brewery because I have heard it is absolutely fantastic,” she said. “So many people have been to gigs there and have said to me afterwards: ‘You have to play there, you would love it.’”

Along with her backing band – Andy Mapplebeck on drums and bassist Richard Ritchie – Chantel will perform tracks from her acclaimed debut album Like No Other, including blues metal freak-out Caught Out, which showcases her soulful voice.

She will also play an acoustic section part way through the gig, displaying another side to her talent.

It has been an upward trajectory for Chantel ever since she got her first guitar at the age of three and began mastering the art of guitar playing when she started lessons four years later.

When she was 14, the head of A&R from a major label sat in her family’s living room and told her she had a ‘great voice, but girls don't play guitar like that’ before advising her to change styles because boys would be intimidated.

But she was not put off, and says: “I have never seen it as a gender thing, I don’t see why it would matter.”

Her star has continued to rise ever since, and having twice been named Young Artist of the Year at the British Blues Awards, last year she was also named Female Vocalist of the Year.

This gig is sure to be a must-see for all fans of the guitar.