YOUTUBE can be a major boost for aspiring singers and bands, letting them upload music to reach a wider audience.

And that's exactly what happened for Glasgow singer Freya Giles.

The songstress performed on a live video stream for a competition and was spotted by the Duchess of Argyll, who's involved in the Best of the West festival at her family pad, Inveraray Castle, Argyll.

That meant Freya, who stays in Broomhill, has been added to this weekend's festival line-up at the Duchess's request.

"I played at King Tut's for the Calmac contest, which was a competition to find someone to play the Hebcelt festival," recalls Freya, who also plays in Glasgow folk group Woodwife.

"I didn't win but about a week later I got a call from someone connected to the Duchess of Argyll, saying that she'd really liked what I'd done and could I go and play at her festival.

"I was gobsmacked, I didn't think it was a wind-up but it took a few minutes to digest. It was shocking but in a nice way."

Freya will now play the bash on Saturday with Woodwife, then return to Glasgow for a gig with the group at Pivo Pivo that night. The next day she'll go back to the Best of the West for a solo set.

The two-day event is in its fourth year and mixes an array of bands with the chance to enjoy local, high quality food. Crafts and children's entertainments are on offer too at the castle, which was a location for Downton Abbey's 2012 Christmas special.

This year sees Celtic group Skerryvore top the bill on Saturday and folk legends Capercaillie headline on Sunday.

Freya says: "I'm sure it's going to be a lovely crowd, the whole vibe of Best of the West sounds really nice.

"It's all family-orientated and during the day, it's such a local celebration and sounds right up my street."

Best of the West will be a big showcase for Freya's music, but it's a gig she could never have done a few years ago when she suffered from stage fright.

It's taken years of playing with Woodwife to help her overcome it.

"I was going through a rough patch and just lost confidence in myself," she says.

"The enjoyment of performing had just stopped. Working on it with the band has been amazing and I've built myself up. They have built up my confidence.

"I kept it a secret from people for a long time that I was playing gigs and writing, as I didn't feel comfortable having people watch me. I'm kinda breaking through that."

Freya's music might point towards folk, but her musical interests go from the likes of Bjork and Joanna Newsom to hard rockers such as Queens of the Stone Age.

It's not surprising she's got varied tastes though, because music has always played a large part in the 29-year-old's life.

"My mum's a violin teacher and my dad's a trombonist, so I've been lucky that I've been exposed to lots of different styles and different genres, from classical to folk and jazz," she says.

"It's only since I've become an adult that I took up the guitar and focused on that with song writing, but loving music has always been there."

NOW she hopes to juggle her work with Woodwife with more solo shows.

"We were just in the studio a couple of weeks ago, recording an EP with Woodwife, so hopefully that will be ready to go in a couple of months," she says.

"I'm planning to do a stripped back recording that's just me too, but the plan is just to do more gigs, and maybe more videos for YouTube and Facebook.

"I'm just aiming to write more and play more - this is what I want to do with my life and what I feel most passionate about, so I'll be trying to make it happen."

n Freya Giles plays Best of the West this weekend.