A FORMER Salisbury schoolgirl is gearing up to support singer James Blunt in Poland on Friday.

Mary Spender, who attended The Godolphin School, will be performing with her London band Gypsyfingers at the Torwar Hall in Warsaw.

Spender, 24, plays viola and guitar for the alternative folk, rock and pop band, as well as providing backing vocals.

She said she was excited to be performing her first arena show in front of thousands of people and to be supporting Blunt.

Blunt, who is also from south Wiltshire, being born in Tidworth, achieved worldwide fame for singles such as “You’re Beautiful” and “Goodbye My Lover”.

Spender said: “I have been playing with Gypsyfingers since May and James Blunt has been running something by which unsigned artists can support him on tour – we were offered Poland so I’m jumping on a plane early on Thursday morning for a bit of a whirlwind trip.

“I’m a little bit nervous as I don’t really know what to expect, being more used to playing smaller venues but I’m more excited than anything.”

Spender, a former member of the Salisbury Area Young Musicians and a blues and pop singer in her own right, debuted at The Larmer Tree Festival at the age of 15, and won the Open Category of the UK Songwriting Contest for 2012.

Last year the singer performed at Glastonbury and has recently returned from touring in the US, playing gigs in New York, and recording music in Nashville.

She can be seen playing with Gypsyfingers here when they launched their first album Circus Life, at St Pancras Old Church.

For more details visit maryspender.com