Summer has finally arrived which means it’s festival season. Here in Gloucestershire the Wychwood and 2000trees festivals offer opportunities for up-and-coming musicians to showcase their talents and that’s exactly what Cheltenham-based musician Jack Cooper is looking forward to doing when he takes to the stage at the Wychwood Festival this Saturday.

Jack has played Wychwood, the three-day festival held at Cheltenham Racecourse, twice before and says the opportunity to play there again this weekend has come at the perfect time. He said: “I’ve just finished my university degree, so it will be great to get back on stage at Wychwood after working really hard at uni this past year. We had our rehearsal this morning which went well, so it’s all systems go for Saturday now. Any musician will tell you that getting on stage and playing in front of a crowd is the best part of the job, it’s a really exciting opportunity, I can’t wait to get out there.

“I played Wychwood at the end of my first year at university. It was just me on stage, no band or anything. I hadn’t played at a festival before, so I was a bit unsure as to what to expect. It was an incredible experience, very different from playing indoors. Last year I shared the stage with a band which was a lot of fun. On Saturday I’ll be playing all the songs I’ve written in the past year or so, I can’t wait.”

In his three years living in Cheltenham Jack has struck the perfect balance between studying for his degree in popular music and getting on stage and performing. He continued: “I’ve had a great time here at the University of Gloucestershire. I feel very lucky to have been offered so many wonderful opportunities to perform and really build my confidence up. We’ve been able to spend a lot of time in the recording studio at the university which has been hugely beneficial. Cheltenham has got a great music scene, at the start of the month I played at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival which was amazing, there was a big crowd and they seemed to enjoy my music.”

As soon as he finishes his set at Wychwood this Saturday Jack’s attention will turn to another Gloucestershire music festival he’ll be performing at later this summer – 2000trees. Jack continued: “I’m so excited to get the opportunity to perform at 2000trees Festival. I’ve never been before, so I’ll be going in with an open mind. I was asked to perform there after playing a gig at the Frog and Fiddle in Cheltenham recently. There were representatives from 2000trees there and at the end of our set they wandered over and asked the band and I if we’d like to play the festival. I played several of my new songs, obviously I was a bit unsure as to how well they would be received, so to get asked to perform at 2000trees was a huge thrill, it was completely out of the blue, but very exciting at the same time. I cannot wait to play there, there’s a number of major acts that are performing and I’ve heard the crowds are really big.”

Having just finished his degree in popular music, Jack has his sights firmly set on a career in the music industry. He added: “I’m 100% committed to working as hard as I can to make a career out of performing. It’s what I love doing, the buzz you get from performing is just amazing, I’ll never tire of it. I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”