GUITAR maestro Chantel McGregor will play the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis.

At 14 she was told by major labels that she had a "great voice, but girls don't play guitar like that!

Wisely ignoring the comments, she enrolled at the Leeds College of Music and became the first student in the college’s history, to achieve a 100 per cent pass mark, with 18 distinctions.

Chantel left with a first class honours degree in Popular Music and a coveted prize, the college’s musician of the year award.

In previous years, Chantel stepped out in the pro-musician world and her stunning live performances demonstrated that she had the ability to perform rock for the new age, played by a musician born with an effortless virtuosity.

Since then, she has built a loyal and growing fan base who follow her every move.

If you measure an artist’s prospects by the company they keep, then Chantel has been moving in the right direction. Early in her career, Chantel was invited to perform with Joe Bonamassa, on two of his UK tours.

When Chantel released her 2011 debut album, Like No Other, one critic said: “Chantel McGregor deserves to be held up as a messiah of blues-rock and given her own mountain. She doesn't strum or pick her guitar but almost bends and distorts it, as if she's channelling the ghost of Hendrix through her fingers"

The album was produced by Livingstone Brown, whose production credits include Ed Sheeran, Robin Trower, and Shakira. The end result was a beautifully crafted debut album that showcased Chantel’s versatility and talent as a singer-songwriter.

Chantel’s follow up album, Like Control, again produced by Livingstone Brown, was released in October 2015 to critical acclaim.

The single, Take The Power, was playlisted for 5 weeks on Planet Rock radio.

Chantel has recently been interviewed for features on Sky News and BBC Radio Five Live.

She is currently writing for her third album, debuting some of the new tracks on her 2018 tour which is currently taking place throughout the UK and Europe. Some of the shows on this tour are a little different, Chantel is preforming some exclusive solo acoustic shows. She will be performing new songs, reworking tracks from her previous two albums and playing some rare cover versions. These are one off shows not to be missed.

*Chantel McGregor, Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Tuesday, September 18. Call the box office for tickets.