Gretchen Peters at Durham Gala Theatre

ONE of Nashville's greatest talents, Gretchen Peters, is bringing her 20th anniversary UK Tour to Durham's Gala Theatre on Thursday (February 4).

The singer songwriter and two-time Grammy nominee has been in near constant motion, touring for the past two years. Her latest accolade has seen her inducted into Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame joining Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Jimmy Webb and Hank Williams.

“Performing my own material was always in my sights from the time I moved to Nashville,” Peters explains. “I didn’t separate the writing from the performing from the recording in my mind. I always saw myself as a singer-songwriter, and that was all part of the job.”

Peters has risen to the top of her craft by writing and recording songs that explore the deep corners of life with empathy and integrity, writing for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. She landed her first No 1 with George Strait’s rendition of her Chill Of An Early Fall, and her first Grammy Nomination and CMA Song of the Year win with Martina McBride’s recording of Independence Day.

* Tickets are £22.50. The gig starts at 7.30pm.Tickets are selling fast on the box office of 03000 266 600 or galadurham.co.uk

Viv Hardwick