Rock and blues singer Chantel McGregor is due to take East Lancashire by storm this summer with gigs in Padiham on July 31 and at the Colne Great British R'n'B Festival on August 28. She talked to us about her love for Lancashire and why she is no Barbie doll.

She got her first guitar, a half-size acoustic, at the tender age of three.

At seven she started having lessons and noticed that electric guitars had a smaller neck, making them ideal for little hands, and by the age of eight she became the youngest person in the country to pass a Rockschool grade.

By 12 she was playing and singing at weekly jam sessions. Now 24, rock and blues musician Chantel McGregor is set to release her debut self-titled album and hopes to make it big.

Due to embark on a four-month tour around the UK in September, she is playing warm-up gigs at Padiham Memorial Park on July 31 with her band and is making a comeback to the Great British R&B Festival on August 28.

“I’ve played quite a few dates in East Lancashire. I like to come here.

“There is always a great atmosphere and it’s even better for me as it’s near to home.” said Chantel, who lives in Bradford.

“I’m really looking forward to playing in Padiham. I just hope that the weather holds out. It usually does when I play outdoors, fingers crossed.

“Every time I’ve played around here I’ve met lots of interesting new people,” she added.

She puts her musical influences down to her parents’ love of prog rock but says she is no music snob.

“I listen to everything from rock like Hendrix to Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. When I was young my parents were into prog rock and I guess that had a big influence on what I played.

“They would go to see big bands like Free and Led Zeppelin all the time and would play records of theirs in the house and the car.

“I suppose the type of music that I play isn’t something that most people would expect from a blonde 24-year-old. When I first started the Jam sessions when I was 12 some of the musicians refused to play with me, they thought that I looked like Barbie doll and that I should be at home playing with one. I’m actually quite glad now that they did. It meant that I went on stage and didn’t rely on the men to lead and do a solo — I had to do it myself.”

But now she is fighting off the praise and has even been known to reduce grown men to tears.

“It’s quite humbling that I have been able to do something that can influence how people feel,” she said.

“If someone has had a bad day and after they have heard my music they feel a little better and go away happy, it is the best thing that I can ask for.”

* Chantel McGregor can be seen with her band at Padiham Memorial Park on Friday, July 31. Tickets, £5, are available by calling Burnley Mechanics box office on 01282 664400. She will also be playing the Great British R&B Festival in Colne on August 28. Tickets on 01282 661234.