One of the brightest young music talents coming out of Essex is about to launch his new EP.

Ever since he burst on to the local scene back in 2016, Sam Eagle has been spreading his wings further afield with support from BBC 6 Music's Tom Robinson, and now a number of showcase spots at the world's biggest music industry conference, South By South West in Austin, Texas, next month.

Sam says: "Tom has been incredibly supportive right from the start when I recorded my first EP. He came to see us last May and then we did a live session for him in July which was just surreal being in the 6 Music studios at Broadcasting House. It was the first live session we had done as a band so it was pretty nerve-racking but it was so much fun."

Based in Great Holland, after going to Ipswich School, Sam took his A Levels at the Colchester Sixth Form College where he met the members of his band, Ben Butler on drums, Eddie Jowers on bass, and Will Heaton on trombone, synth and percussion.

"I thought about university," he adds, "possibly taking some kind of music degree but there just wasn't a course I liked and so I thought my time now would be spent better pushing my own music."

Which he's being doing very well at.

Following a gig at the Southbank Centre in London last night, the 19 year-old songwriter and multi-instrumentalist brings jazzy, complex yet accessible alt-pop tunes via the influence of Radiohead, Nick Hakim, and Thundercat to the Lakeside Theatre at Essex University next Friday, February 15.

As well as the Radio 6 live session, with his band, his acclaimed live set has seen them perform for BBC Introducing at Latitude Festival but with a good showing at South By South West, that could just be the tip of the festival iceberg.

"Latitude was a dream come true for us," Sam tells me, "and we'd love to go back. We have three shows lined-up in Austin with the whole band, and we're looking to do a few more so who knows what will happen from that."

His self-titled EP, produced by the brilliant Tom Donovan in Rowhedge, is out today.

For his Lakeside gig, Sam has put together an impressive support roster with the wonderful Bessie Turner whose influences such as Lauryn Hill and Dionne Warwick, has also attracted national attention, and The VV Experience, otherwise known as Will Heaton with his experimental processed soundscapes.

Tickets for the gig, which starts at 8pm, are £5, available from lakesidetheatre.org.uk