THE Black Swan Folk Club has a long tradition of bringing blossoming talent to York and tomorrow night's headline act will affirm that policy once more.

Award-winning southern singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player Kelly Oliver will form part of a "new roots" double bill with Project Jam Sandwich, a lively York quintet specialising in world music, at the Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, at 8pm.

Kelly released her debut album, This Land, on the Folkstock Records label last October and the record went on to receive a four-star review from the Daily Telegraph and airplay on Bob Harris's show on BBC Radio 2, en route to winning the Female Singer Best Album of the Year Award from Folkwords.

This success was her reward for her decision in April 2013 to pursue a career in music after graduating from Royal Holloway, University of London, and travelling around Europe, Argentina and Brazil.

Influenced by acoustic and traditional Irish folk music, Kelly played her first folk club gig in June 2013 at the Hitchin Folk Club as a support act to Chris and Kellie While.

Further support slots followed at Hitchin and she has since visited numerous folk clubs around Britain, opening for such acts as The Young’uns, Dave Swarbrick, Emma Stevens and Miranda Sykes and Rex Preston.

Kelly also has been involved in the Armistice Pals project alongside Lucy Ward, Johnny Coppin and East Riding folk singer Edwina Hayes, leading to a charity single version of Where Have All The Flowers Gone that was played on BBC Radio 2.

Kelly has performed at such British festivals as FolkEast, Rhythms of the World and Purbeck Folk Festival and twice represented Hitchin Folk Club at the Cambridge Folk Festival. After winning a singer/songwriter competition to open the Folkstock Presents stage at Folkstock Festival in September 2013, she was offered the chance to make her first EP, Far From Home, for release that November on Folkstock.

Kelly was invited to record an Under The Apple Tree session at the Whispering Bob Broadcasting Company last summer, when she was interviewed by the legendary Whispering Bob Harris, and she visited the WBBC again last October, this time with Luke Jackson, to record a live version of their duet Diamond Girl, the first single from her album. Diamond Girl was later played on Radio 2 on Mark Radcliffe’s Folk Show and Bob Harris’s Sunday show last October.

The single trailered her debut album, This Land, which features guest contributions from Fairport Convention fiddler Dave Swarbrick and BBC Folk Award nominees Sunjay and Luke Jackson. Kelly was privileged to win a Help Musicians UK Emerging Excellence Award to fund the cost of recording the record, enabling her to concentrate on musical career full time.

Tickets for tomorrow's concert cost £8, concessions £7, in advance from blackswanfolkclub.org.uk/, wegottickets.com or on the door. Looking ahead, the aforementioned Fairport Convention will promote their new album, Myths And Heroes, at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on February 17 at 7.30pm; tickets are on sale at £24.10 online at cityvarieties.co.uk or on 0113 243 0808.