Influenced by guitar legends Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins and endorsed by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, Joanne Shaw Taylor has a rare pedigree for British blues guitarists.

There's an opportunity to check her out when she brings her band to Margate's Westcoast on Friday (November 27).

Dave Stewart said: "I have played with all sorts of blues musicians all over the world, but I heard something I thought I would never hear -- a British white girl playing blues guitar so deep and passionately it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end."

Although only 16 at the time, her skills at the Telecaster were so perfect that the blues fan and Eurythmics-frontman asked her to join his supergroup D.U.P. to tour Europe in 2002.

Today Joanne is 23 and happy about the fact that she took her time with her recording debut. She said: "I wanted to take time out to really work on my craft and make sure that when I did an album it was the best that I could do."

For the album White Sugar Joanne took a plane to Memphis where her label RUF had booked Jim Gaines' studio. Jim had worked with some of Joanne's idols like Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and brought in experienced sessionmen Steve Potts (drums) and Dave Smith (bass).

Joanne added: "Working with these guys was totally easy. I knew of them because of Luther Allison and Jonny Lang's albums. They didn't know the tracks until five minutes before we recorded them. I made them listen to the songs once and then play them. It was fantastic. They got so much feeling and soul."

Her debut album White Sugar features funky shuffles, soulful ballads or the hypnotic hookline of the title track, a burning instrumental.

At her Margate show she is supported by Virgil and the Accelerators, whose average age is just 16. If Joanne is already making a name for herself, Virgil is on the brink of exploding on to the scene. Last Sunday marked his 18 birthday and the rock blues scene's hottest property, Joe Bonamassa, sent him a personal message. Virgil will be on stage at 8.15pm.

Tickets are £8 in advance or £10 on the door.