Performing with her quartet for Women of the World Festival, Gillespie creates a mix of emotive ballads, raucous gypsy swing, blues and vaudeville, not to mention some wild, Arabic-infused flourishes, too.

However, within all of this you can clearly hear the influences of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and the Velvet Underground.

Musically Sarah Gillespie's sound is a melting-pot of urban-folk and middle-eastern blues.

Described as 'streetwise and romantic, tender and tough' by The Daily Telegraph, her lyrically driven songs are conveyed with a powerfully sensuous voice and deft finger-picking guitar.

With her distinctive delivery, Gillespie is a passionate and formidable storyteller. She sings of wrestling with the toils of life, love and yearning in a style that blends everyday banter with raw poetry.

'Totally original music - Sarah Gillespie is brilliant, the bee's knees.' Robert Wyatt