Chantel ready to channel Jimi Hendrix in Edinburgh

AT the age of 14, guitar prodigy Chantel McGregor was told by major labels that she had a “great voice, but girls don’t play guitar like that.”

Chantel McGregor Photo by Graham Quick/Shutterstock (5616764c)

Ignoring them, McGregor followed her dreams - achieving a 100% pass mark, with 18 distinctions and a First Class Honours degree in Popular Music along the way - and is today stunning live performances with her ability to perform rock.

The release of her 2011 debut album, Like No Other, caused one critic to declare, “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.”

High praise indeed for the musician who continues to build a loyal and growing fan base and if you measure an artist’s prospects by the company they keep, McGregor was invited to perform with Joe Bonamassa on two of his UK tours.

McGregor’s follow up album, Like Control, was released in October 2015, again to critical acclaim with All About Rock observing, “Chantel’s double tracked vocals are amazingly tight... The girl can obviously shred but she does so in a very understated and despite the title of the album, a controlled way.”

In December 2018, McGregor launched her own successful Podcast, which earned her a place in the iTunes Podcast Charts.

Recently featured on Sky News, BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Radio Four, McGregor’s star continues to rise, and there’s a chance to discover why when she headlines Bannermans on the Cowgate on 27 August.

Currently writing for her third album and recording an acoustic album, the singer/songwriter will debut some of those new tracks when her tour brings her to the Capital.

A little different from what her fans might be used to, McGregor will be performing new songs, reworking tracks from her previous two albums and playing some rare cover versions acoustically - one off shows that are not to be missed.

Chantel McGregor, Bannermans, Cowgate, Tuesday 27 August, 8pm, £15, https://tickets-scotland.com/chan7