Carluke songwriter Megan Taylor through to finals

Singing to success...16-year-old Megan Taylor who has won her way through to the Manchester finals (Pic by Sarah Peters)

Sixteen-year-old Megan Taylor got through the Scottish area finals of the Open Mic UK competition at Glasgow Caledonian University.

The Carluke High pupil will now aim to impress the judges at the North West England and Scotland Area Finals at The Royal Northern College of Music Concert Hall in Manchester in mid-November.

Megan said: “I was delighted when the judges put me through because I made a last minute decision to enter.

“I have been playing guitar for the last three years and about a year ago I started to try to write my own songs.

“Getting through has given me a lot of confidence and everyone has been really supportive.”

A member of both Carluke Amateur Operatic Society and Lanark Amateur Musical Society, Megan can’t wait to travel down to Manchester and she is hoping that a lot of her friends will make the journey down to support her too.

She added: “A lot of my friends have said they want to come down with me so I think I will be hiring a coach to take us down!

“Some of my teachers have been great as well; a few of them came to see me in Glasgow.

“Music wasn’t something that I thought about doing before but now I think I will take it more seriously.

“The competition has been a great experience so far.”