Two for Texas as teenagers realise their music dreams

For 19-year-old Jasmine Kennedy, from Batley, and 16-year-old schoolgirl Emily Sargant, from Haworth, it’s the realisation of a musical dream.

The girls, who have developed a following in the region over the past two years, have been chosen to be showcased at next month’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival.

Jasmine won the unsigned artists contest to appear at Bingley Live in 2010 and has since gone on to take part in the three-day Limetree Music & Arts Festival.

Emily has wowed audiences in her native Haworth since first picking up a guitar at the age of 14. She is currently finishing her GCSEs and hoping to be accepted at a leading music college next year. Following in the acoustic indie folk/pop tradition of artists such as Ed Sheeran, she played at over 30 live gigs in her first year.

Keen to promote their music to a wider audience and to broaden contacts and experience in the music world, Jasmine and Emily were offered sponsorship to attend the Texan music jamboree from NorthWest by North (NWXN), a support group which provides information, advice, mentoring and assistance to young singer-songwriters in the region.