A popular performer from Woking has returned from her trip to America and is ready to take on Europe.

Alice Armstrong, winner of the UK Contemporary Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards 2024, recently travelled to Memphis with her band to represent the UK in the International Blues Challenge.

Competing against almost 200 world-class bands and solo artists from around the world, they reached the semi-finals and played at some of Beale Street’s legendary venues. Delivering jaw-dropping, high-energy performances and impressing audiences and judges alike.

Alice said: “I want to thank you all again for believing in us and supporting us on this journey. Kev, Joshua and Olly all played phenomenally, I am so proud and grateful for them. I could not have wished for a better team to be on this adventure with.”

Alice's songs are rooted in rhythm and blues, with influences from soul, funk, rock and pop, the majority of her shows being self-penned with a few eclectic covers mixed in.

One of her biggest influences is Aretha Franklin, though she also draws inspiration from the world around her and has an impressive vocal range. She is described as being able to “blow the horns off the devil himself” by the Blues Matters magazine.

Alice’s fans include Joe Bonamassa and Cerys Matthews, the latter inviting Alice to be a guest on her BBC Radio 2 show last year.

This April, Alice and her band will head to Split in Croatia, to represent the UK at the 2025 European Blues Challenge. Until then, she continues to bring her electrifying live show to audiences in the UK and Europe.

Local fans can catch them at the Electric Theatre in Guildford on Sunday, March 2 or at the Hampshire Cultural Trust in Aldershot on Saturday, June 14.