Singer songwriter Ria Woods had one of the biggest live gigs of her life at the weekend, playing at The Willow Festival in Peterborough.
Ria has the purest voice you could ever wish to hear, akin to the likes of Eva Cassidy or Hayley Westenra, and accompanies herself on acoustic guitar.
Ria (32), from Sutton Bridge, has already recorded an album in a duo called Sugar Kick with a friend, Steven Slater, from Holbeach.
Her dream of stardom – and a full-time career as a musician – is fired by an ambition to get her music heard.
She said: “It’s just for people to actually hear my songs and for me to hear people singing my songs and relating to them.”
Ria performs a mixture of covers, from the likes of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Emeli Sande, and her own compositions such as When We Were Five and The Real You.
She said: “Some songs are based on true stories.
“When my friend was at primary school, she met her partner and he knew he loved her then but they didn’t get together until 20 or 30 years later.
“The Real You is about if you believe in yourself you can do it.”
Long Sutton born Ria studied popular music at The College of West Anglia, but music currently has to play second string to her job with a property maintenance company in Wisbech.
She’s now appearing with a fellow acoustic guitarist, but sings solo.
l You can hear Ria singing by clicking on this article on www.spaldingtoday.co.uk and the Sugar Kick album is available on iTunes, Amazon and spotify – she also has a Facebook page Ria Woods Music. Ria hopes soon to have her own website to get her music more widely heard.