AN exciting opportunity is being enjoyed by an up and coming singer from Hertfordshire.

Invited to support on the current national tour for Thea Gilmore on her November tour, Kelly Oliver is opening for the legendary acoustic singer songwriter on her sold out concert this coming Sunday 15th November at The Met in Bury.

Thea is almost a household name, but what do we know about her support act Kelly Oliver?

If you've been keeping a keen ear on BBC Radio 2 you will have heard her songs popping out of your speakers over the last year, as she is favoured by both Bob Harris and the Radio 2 Folk Show.

Bob Harris has described Kelly on air as 'an emerging voice in British Folk', ' sincere and lovely', ' what a beautiful, pure voice' and The Times remarked that Kelly was "blending traditional values with bold indie pop sensibility".

She has duetted with Fairport Convention's Dave Swarbrick, “Kelly has the vocal skills and an exquisite voice to boot. For one so young to have such a grasp of life’s travails is unusual, I like Kelly Oliver’s approach to the present and the past and I predict a glittering future for her”

Kelly has enjoyed a whirlwind since May 2013 when she decided to put her all into becoming a self penned singer songwriter.

Having originally been inspired by the folk tradition, she returned from travelling determined to give her own material a chance to be heard and put all her energy into realising her dream of becoming a professional musician.

She decided to add Harmonica to her guitar accompaniment and has since won endorsement from HOHNER.

She was delighted to win a financial Emerging Excellence Award from Help Musicians UK to fund her album, which went on to gain a 4* review from The Telegraph among other accolades.

Diamond Girl, the first single from the album which features the vocals of Luke Jackson gained Kelly her first BBC Radio Two Folk Show play from Mark Radcliffe on 1st October 2014 and Bob Harris’s Sunday show mid October.

Since then, each of the subsequent three singles has been played on these prestigious shows, with the last three singles played on Bob Harris's BBC Radio 2 show and two played on BBC 6 Music by Chris Hawkins.

Kelly has been invited to session for Whispering Bob Harris for his ‘Under The Apple Tree’ show twice, to record at Jon Earl’s famed Songs from the Shed, interview and session with Ruth Barnes on Amazing Radio, perform live on BBC Stations – Three Counties Radio, Cambridgeshire, London, Kent, Gloucestershire, Berkshire, York, Solent, Hereford and Worcester.

2015 has been busy with a single being released on May 11th, another on 25th Sept and the most recent coming out on 20th November. Kelly’s Miles to Tralee opened the Folkstock compilation DOWNTOWN, which was reviewed in The Sunday Times on November 1st.

Kelly won a Best Solo Female award from NMG in October, has performed a range of headline gigs, interesting festivals and been featured in many magazines and newspapers, including two video premieres in Folk Radio UK, in addition to recent live performances on Norwich's Mustard TV as well as London Live TV.

Kelly is about to embark on a month tour during November as support for Thea Gilmore and both artists are coming to The Met in Bury on Sunday 15th November. Sounds like a great gig for those lucky enough to have bought tickets.