HOME bird and songbird Emily Slade isn't one for junk food - especially when it comes to cheese burger soup and spray can cheese.

Emily came across these culinary delights when she toured America, and said it was one of her strangest experiences there.

The acoustic guitar singer-songwriter says she gave the strange food a miss, and who can blame her.

Emily, who has been singing professionally for 18 months tries to eat healthily after advice given to her from a fellow musician.

''I was warned from one of the men from the folk scene to get exercise,'' she said.

''He jogs every day and it has kept him healthy.

''He said you should get exercise into your pattern because, with this lifestyle, it's too easy to slip into lager, wine and a curry after a gig.''

Despite the strange food liaisons, Emily's first proper tour of America in February this year went well.

New York, Ohio, Kentucky and Massachusetts were just some of the places on her schedule.

''The performances went down fantastic,'' she enthuses.

''American audiences have a very different approach to English audiences.

''English audiences are quietly appreciative, but American audiences are more vocal about the performance.

''It's quite nice to have such a feedback.

''They're not afraid of buying CDs either, which is useful when you're starting out.''

People who'd like to see Emily live will not have to go all the way to America, for she will be playing Worcester's Huntingdon Hall on Sunday, May 9.

Emily has plenty of reason to look forward to coming to Huntingdon Hall because she says the hall was one of the few venues to give her a chance to launch her career.

When she was at university studying English and education, she sent out CDs of her singing to different venues.

''Chris Jaeger, from Huntingdon Hall, heard the CD and gave me a support slot with Wilco Johnson,'' she says.

''Lots of other people aren't prepared to take a chance if you are an unknown name but Chris did.

'It's so important to push the scene forward and not just stay with the same old people.''

When I ask Emily if her music is folk, she says she worries about folk comparisons.

''They call it the dreaded 'F' word,'' she says. ''I like to be known as an acoustic singer-songwriter.''

Emily, who has been playing guitar since the age of nine, lives in Hitchin, North Hertfordshire.

''I've become really attached to Hitchin,'' she says.

''It's one of those towns you'd be pleased to come across if you were on holiday.''

Emily has written a song about Hitchin called Shire Boy, the title track of her first album.

''The song's about commuters to London who've bought houses in this area, and the house prices have shot up, so young people have moved out of the area, because they can't afford the prices,'' she says.

She's in the middle of writing her second album, but she says she hasn't decided on a name for it yet.

Her songs aren't about teenage angst, she insists, but about the things that young people do in the name of freedom, ending up with opposite results.

To illustrate the point, one of the songs that expresses this sentiment was inspired by a cousin of hers.

''My cousin went to university in the name of freedom to try to get a better job, but ended up with £12,000 debt.'

Shire Boy was a mixture of original songs, traditional songs and contemporary songs, but her new album will be have a more intimate feel.

Emily will also be taking a workshop at Huntingdon Hall, CrownGate, Worcester, on Saturday, May 10.

The performance is part of Passing Notes, Huntingdon Hall's mentoring scheme for aspiring professional folk musicians.

Emily has been mentoring Jackie Oates, a 20-year-old fiddle player from Stratford, who will perform with Emily in concert.

n For more details or for tickets contact the hall's box office on 01905 611427.