Largs: Rachel Lightbody set to perform at Beacon Arts Centre

Former Largs Academy pupil Rachel Lightbody, who cites music principal teacher Craig Smith as a major influence, is looking forward to the Beacon gig in Greenock - with family and friends heading up for the big night out.

Rachel's musical interests lie in a broad range of styles, from jazz and folk to the great songwriters of the 20th century, producing her unique and genre-defying approach to writing, arranging and interpreting music.

She appears in a wide variety of musical projects, both as a bandleader and as a side-woman, collaborating with artists such as; Alyn Cosker, Paul Harrison, Kris Drever, Siobhan Miller, Rachel Sermanni and Fat Suit, to name a few.

Rachel Lightbody is set to perform at The Beacon Arts Centre (Image: Rachel LIghtbody Music)

Speaking to the News, Rachel, 34, said: "I started playing piano at a young age and my family are all very musical, with my dad playing the piano.

"I have always had a passion for jazz, and I love the flexibility and unpredictability of the music which can go a number of different ways.

"I did a BA Applied Music course at Strathclyde University which was very prestigious and has produced a large amount of jazz musicians, and I have been based in Glasgow ever since, and love the city jazz scene which is so strong and vibrant."

Rachel now teaches at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she puts her experience and talent to good use in encouraging the next generation - and she predicts that the future is very bright.

She said: "We are most fortunate in the west of Scotland to be blessed with some amazing musical talent."

Rachel got her first musical break at Largs Live as she performed with her father, David, on the piano in Lounge Restaurant in the early years of the local music festival.

Rachel grew up with David, and mother Maureen, in Largs, and both parents have now moved to Fairlie. She also has two brothers, John and Richard.

Rachel told how she is really looking forward to The Beacon Jazz Night and added: "It is going to be great.

"I last played at The Beacon during the Glasgow Jazz festival, and it was a very chilled set, and this time we are hoping to bring more musicians including piano player Tom Gibbs, David Bowden on bass, and Steven Henderson on drums.

"We play a lot together and I am super excited to be bringing this to The Beacon. I am looking forward to singing songs with no barriers including modern songs with familiar repertoire.

"One of my favourite songs to sing is The Beatles and Here Comes The Sun - and I will definitely be performing that.

"It would be great to have as many people there as possible to enjoy the magic of jazz. What I love about it is that everyone can relax when the singer takes the stage - I am influenced by various genres of music rather than just traditional jazz and I like to have a modern take."

The show starts at 8pm. For tickets go to Beacon Arts - Rachel Lightbody (beaconartscentre.co.uk)