A bright young performer who doesn't let Crohn's Disease get in the way of him performing hundreds of gigs a year tells Joanna Davis why he's looking forward to being one of the headline acts at this year's Lyme Regis Jazz Festival.

REMARKABLE Laurence Jones juggles a gruelling schedule while living with a serious condition.

The blues performer, who won the British Blues Awards Young Artist Of The Year in 2014 and 2015, is one of the headline acts for the Lyme Regis Jazz Festival this year, taking place from May 27 to 30.

Laurence, 24, suffers from Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease.

This means that stress and meeting his many concert commitments - he performed 230 gigs last year - can cause flare-ups and affect his day to day life.

In some ways, the blues genre has come naturally to Laurence because he can sing about the pain that comes with his condition, he said.

"I have always said that music is my outlet and my channel.

"I wouldn't be able to do a nine to five job, I need to be able to sing about my condition.

"With the blues you have got to be able to sing about your pain and and in some ways having Crohn's helps with that."

Stratford-upon-Avon based Laurence has toured all over Europe, has performed at the prestigious Royal Albert and Carnegie halls and is about to embark on a tour of the Caribbean.

Every so often he has to be hooked up to a infliximab drip to target part of his gut and help with his condition. He has also had an operation to help him.

"It's like having a hangover for three days, you can't do anything.

"When I'm touring I do have to be careful with what I'm eating because certain things can make it flare up."

Laurence is doing such a good job of spreading awareness of Crohn's that his fans raised £13,000 for Crohn's and Colitis UK.

He said: "I've tried to raise as much awareness as possible.

"I was on the front cover of the charity's Connect magazine and a lot of people who have Crohn's tend to come to the gigs and tell me they don't know how I do it.

"It's nice to know I've been able to inspire a few people."

Having only performed in the county at Mr Kyp's in Poole before, Laurence is looking forward to visiting West Dorset and taking in Lyme Regis.

He said: "People can expect a real live experience, I hoping they will think it's something they wouldn't normally see if they saw a young guy singing and playing the blues."

Laurence's rich, gravelly, raw voice has a sound belying his youth that marries organically with his frenetic guitar playing.

And the blues is a sound that is becoming more mainstream, Laurence said.

"Back in the 60s the Rolling Stones were these young guys and they were inspired by Robert Johnson and covered all these songs and made them popular. A lot of people thought these were their own songs but they were getting them from these guys in America.

"I was 17 when I started started singing and I had played the guitar since I was eight. I'd been in a band since I was 13.

"There was a girl singer who could no longer sing in the band and I decided to start singing myself.

"I recorded an album at the age of 18."

A significant figure in Laurence's musical career is Kenny Wayne Shepherd, a contemporary guitarist from the Deep South of the US who gained rare fame for a bluesman, despite his interests.

The sight that first piqued Laurence's interest in the genre was seeing a YouTube video of Jimi Hendrix setting a guitar on fire.

"But I haven't tried that myself!" he laughs.

Laurence adds: "I think the blues has a good connection with people and everyone can relate to it.

"Since my career has started, I've been lucky to experience quite a lot of success.

"Playing at the Royal Albert Hall was a fantastic experience and I've been lucky enough to have played and sung with Jools Holland and Van Morrison."

Reality television and auditioning for The X Factor would never have been an option for him, Laurence said.

"Now I think that if it had never happened, if I'd never been able to record an album, I never would have wanted to audition for X Factor because for me it's all about my music. For me I have to play the blues and wouldn't want to change my style."

Laurence is in demand in Europe and scooped Best European Guitarist 2015 at the European Blues Awards. He has also recently been on a tour of the Caribbean.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding Laurence within his genre. He has been dubbed as 'the natural successor to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton' and his fourth album, recorded with producer Mike Vernon, the man behind the desk with John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and David Bowie, will be released in August.

Laurence said: "I have been played on Radio 2 and I'm flattered that I've been called 'the next big thing' in the blues world.

"And they said Eric Clapton better watch out. Seriously, that's huge compliment for me.

"I think the blues has always been in the mainstream, it's been made soulful and adopted by a lot of other genres, even pop relates to the blues.

"I hope that the way we are doing is attracting a lot of younger people and they are interested in coming to see the blues."

*Laurence performs at the Lyme Regis Jazz and Blues Weekend in Lyme Regis on Sunday May 29 at 7.30pm. See lymeregisjazzfestival.co.uk for tickets and more information