BLUES rock guitarist Chantel McGregor plays a solo acoustic show at Ripley Town Hall, near Harrogate, on June 14 at 7.30pm.

At 14, Chantel was told by major labels that she had a "great voice, but girls don't play guitar like that". Wisely ignoring such comments, she enrolled at the Leeds College of Music, becoming the first student there to achieve a 100 per cent pass mark, with 18 distinctions to boot.

She left with a First Class degree in Popular Music and a coveted prize, the college’s musician of the year award.

Early in her career, she was invited to perform with Joe Bonamassa on two of his British tours. In 2011, she released her debut album, Like No Other; in 2015 came her second, Like Control, again produced by Livingstone Brown, this time full of gothic imagery.

Last December, she launched her own podcast, and at present she is writing songs for her third album, an acoustic work, from which she is debuting songs on her 2019 tour, alongside re-worked numbers from her past albums and rare cover versions.

To check ticket availability, go to ripleylive.com.