WINSFORD’S budding singer-songwriter Sam Lyon is ready for the big stage and is appealing to her community to help her get there.

The 21-year-old Winsford favourite has been performing her songs live since the age of 13, and after recently deciding to go full-time with her music career, an opportunity to play at one of the UK’s biggest music festivals would be the perfect break-through.

Kendal Calling Festival in Cumbria has set up a ‘suggestions’ page on its website asking people to vote for who they want to appear at the festival.

The votes have to be for bands and artists on the website’s database and when Sam realised she was eligible to be voted for, she took to social media to ask her fans to get her on the stage at Kendal Calling 2017.

“I have applied to play Kendal Calling for the past couple of years and never got chosen,” said Sam. “They’ve never done anything like this before to give such a good opportunity to unsigned bands.

“To perform at Kendal Calling would be great, it’s such a good platform to showcase my music and would be like a starting point for going on to bigger gigs as well.

“If you get that behind your name, that you’ve played a huge festival like that, then I’m sure that’s the kind of thing that would lead onto other opportunities. It could be a great break-through.”

Sam made the decision to go full-time and pursue her music career recently and Winsford residents have been reaping the benefits, watching her performances at the likes of Off Cut Festival, headlined by 90s band Space.

Despite enjoying what she describes as a ‘great music scene’ in her home town, Sam is has been trying and succeeding to get herself known further afield.

She added: “I went travelling in March and now I’m back I decided to go full-time with my music so I’m gigging all the time.

“Music in Winsford is wonderful, there’s live music everywhere in pubs around the town, there is a great little music scene. But it’s hard to cross the line, you can be really popular in Winsford but no-one would have heard of you in Crewe for example.

“I’ve just got onto the Albert Dock ‘Folk Festival on the Dock’ and that will hopefully lead onto other things, but Kendal Calling would be even bigger.”

To vote for Sam, go to kendalcalling.co.uk/suggestions.