ACCLAIMED British singer-songwriter Emily Maguire will perform at Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre on June 21 as part of a national tour.

The composer, poet and multi-instrumentalist, was described as “a talent to be reckoned with” by RnR Magazine.

She is renowned for heartfelt, thought-provoking lyrics, an emotive voice and spellbinding live performances.

Classically trained as a child on piano, cello, flute and recorder, Emily taught herself guitar aged 21 when she found herself stuck at home with fibromyalgia pain syndrome.

She said: “I started writing songs and the illness suddenly became a complete blessing in disguise as I had all this time on my hands to write.”

Emily gave up her flat in London for a shack made out of recycled wood, tin and potato sacks on a goat farm in the Australian bush.

Together with Aussie bass player and producer Christian Dunham, she financed her first two albums by making and selling goats’ cheese.

Emily and Christian toured UK concert halls with American legend Don McLean in 2007, and her third album Believer, released in 2009, received regular airplay on Radio 2.

The album received rave reviews in the music press, Maverick Magazine hailing it “a masterpiece”.

Emily hid her struggles with bipolar disorder until she published her first book Start Over Again, launching it on Radio 2 on World Mental Health Day in 2010.

Visit emilymaguire.com for further information.