She first picked up a guitar as a toddler, played her first gig as a teenager and broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first woman to be named Guitarist of the Year at the British Blues Awards 2013 – but Chantel McGregor still has to face critics more focused on her sex then her skill.

“I have had everything from ‘she shouldn’t wear a dress, she should be in leather’ to ‘she shouldn’t be playing guitar at all’,” the 28-year-old says, with frustration colouring her Bradford accent.

“It’s bonkers. We had a review last week which raised the image thing and said it should be rockier and the sad thing is that it was a woman reviewer.”

Chantel describes music executives ‘shrivelling up’ at her refusal to budge and adds: “It’s crazy, but it is a male dominated industry even now.”

Fortunately she seems undiminished by the sexism, finding strength chatting to other female guitarists such as Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Nicks, and dreams one day of playing Wembley and of ‘world domination’.

Her love of music started at home as a toddler with her dad playing guitar while she danced around. Aged three, she wanted to have a go herself and at seven started lessons.

“When I was 12 I started going to jam sessions, which was a real buzz. I decided then it was what I wanted to do.”

Thankfully her parents backed her dream and let her do gigs in between studying at school and then at Leeds College of Music.

By 14, Chantel was being described as a ‘prodigy’ and a visit from a major label soon followed, but she was told “great voice, but girls don’t play guitar like that” by the head of its A&R and advised to change styles because boys would be intimidated.

This was met with “That’s their problem. I’m not changing!” and she hasn’t looked back since, gigging tirelessly up and down the country, winning Young Artist of the Year at the British Blues Awards in 2011, Best Female Vocalist in 2012, Guitarist of The Year and Best Female Vocalist in 2013, and Guitarist of The Year again this year.

But Chantel, who plays a Fender Stratocaster, Music Man and PRS on stage, remains humble about her talent: “I can always learn more and you should never get stuck thinking you are the best. I don’t think I’m really good. I just do it and enjoy it.”

In between touring she has been recording her new album in Brixton with Livingstone Brown, who has worked with Kylie Minouge and Ed Sheeran and who produced her 2011 debut album, Like No Other.

“Having experiences to write about is difficult because I don’t have a social life, so I’ve immersed myself in the southern Gothic world of True Detective and True Blood. There are a lot of themes such as heartbreak and things that people will be able to relate to and a lot of imagery about sin and hate.

“People will think I have gone bonkers but it was really fun to write and to play.”

The album isn’t due for release until early 2015, but Chantel already has her sights set on teaming up with one of music’s biggest female icons, Lady GaGa, in the future and hopes to encourage more young women to come to her gigs.

“I get quite a few asking me for advice which is really brilliant. If a girl says she’s getting stick at school for playing guitar and if I can help give her that confidence today I will because it could be that she’s the next Stevie Nicks in ten years.”

  • Chantel McGregor is at The Tropic, Ruislip Social Club, Grosvenor Vale, Ruislip on Friday, November 21, from 8pm. Details: 020 8707 2256, tropicatruislip.co.uk