Not many fledgling singers get a chance to perform at Wembley Exhibition Centre but then not many beat 2,000 other hopefuls to the final of a national music competition.
Jono McCleery, 22, of Surbiton, is one of 10 young musicians competing to become the British Music Week's Best National Unsigned Act 2005 on November 11.
And after years of gigging at Kingston's RamJam club Jono is ready for the challenge of a much bigger audience projected visitor numbers exceed 100,000.
He said: "I only just found out that I have qualified so I'm not really sure what's happening. I love performing and feel that when I perform my own stuff I get a true sense of identity."
Jono entered the auditions, held throughout the country, by sending in a CD of his music which he recorded using his own home studio equipment.
His success he has been compared to music legends Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley is even more surprising considering he has only been playing guitar and writing songs for the past four years.
He said: "Being compared to people like Nick Drake is an awful lot to live up to but those are the people who inspire me."
British Music Week will be at the Wembley Conference and Exhibition centre on November 11 and 12. For more information go to www.jonomccleery.com
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