TALENTED singer songwriter Andreya Triana owes much to Worcester - because it was the place where she got her big break in music.

The 23-year-old sang at a jamming night at the Marr's Bar at the age of 17 and was subsequently introduced to fellow musician Dom Keen by venue owner Brian Marr.

They went on to form Bootis about five years ago, together with John Hughes on guitar and vocals, DJ Usuma on decks, Ross Porter on vocals - and a wealth of other musicians who would swap their instruments mid-performance.

"It was basically a collection of musicians who got together and played," said Andreya.

Now she will be returning to her roots with the band - albeit in a new line-up and with a new sound - to perform at the Marr's Bar tonight.

It will be the first time they have played in the city since November.

"I always love it - I always think not matter what I do with music it's like my homecoming gig and it was the first chance I had to perform to an audience," said Andreya.

The original Bootis line-up split about four years ago as various members moved to Brighton to pursue other musical projects, including the Quantiq Soul Orchestra.

However it was not the end of the band's story as Andreya moved from Worcester - where she lived for six years, going to the city's Elgar High School - to Leeds to study.

There she met bass player Chris Hargreaves and they agreed to form a band in March 2004, keeping the old name, together with Chris's friends Damien Ramsurn on keyboards and Jamie Robertson on drums.

They are also joined by the talented Mark Joyce - aka DJ Sinical on decks - the finalist in a worldwide DJing competition.

"I was looking for an acoustic thing and couldn't find any musicians and just by chance I met a bassist and we went from there," said Andreya.

The band have been busy over the past year playing gigs across the country - performing live on BBC Radio, getting airplay on 1xtra and releasing a track - Fly Away - on a compilation with artists such as Roachford and Amy Winehouse.

They have also now recorded their debut album - provisionally titled Peace of Mine - in a hectic two-day session at a studio in Leeds.

Andreya has also enjoyed success in her own right, performing on the main stage at the Urban Music Festival at Earl's Court in London alongside the likes of Dizzee Rascal and Alicia Keys.

The opportunity came about as she was a finalist in an urban music competition several years ago and the organisers contacted her.

"It was amazing - I'd only dreamed of this for years. When I was actually there it was wonderful - the stage was huge," she said.

Now she is keen for the band to go global and secure a record deal - and revealed Sony has already shown some interest.

"I think it's going great so far - the stuff we've achieved in a year has been phenomenal.

"It's one thing doing a record but you need a lot of experience and need to know how to work a crowd.

"We've had fantastic gigs and we've had crappy little gigs where five people turn up so it's all been a learning curve."

Doors open for tonight's gig at 8pm and tickets are £3 in advance or £5 on the door.