2:54pm Tuesday 22nd July 2008
By Alex Townley
AT only 14, Alcester guitarist Jack Blackman is set to have the best summer of his life.
Last month, the teenager won the Shipston Proms Fame Concert, playing blues guitar, which led him to a place on the bill at its Proms Concert.
For the rest of the summer he has solo performances lined up at the Upton-on-Severn Blues Festival and the Gloucester Rhythm and Blues Festival.
But his biggest break so far was performing live on stage at the NEC in Birmingham with his band Red Kyte last weekend.
Jack's dad Steve Blackman went to see the show.
He said: "It was tremendous and we really enjoyed ourselves. They had a proper stage set up with two huge screens either side and they went down very well."
The performance was part of the National Rock and Pop Festival and around eight bands got to put on a 15-minute set each to an enthusiastic audience. Warwickshire schools band Red Kyte had to send in a demo CD with some sample tracks in order to qualify for a place in the line up.
Talking about Jack's musical plans for the summer, Steve added: "It's getting bigger and bigger, he's getting some pretty big gigs. It's a great thrill."
For more information on Jack Blackman, or to listen to his music, visit www.jackblackman.com or for Red Kyte visit www. myspace.com/redkyte.
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