VIDEO: Musician brings Gallic feel to Croydon (From Your Local Guardian)

VIDEO: Musician brings Gallic feel to Croydon

8:00am Thursday 23rd August 2012 in Croydon By Nick Hitchens

A music lover filmed playing her beloved accordion at school is shocked to find she has become an internet sensation.

Alexa Sage, 22, fell in love with the instrument after taking a holiday with her accordion-playing grandfather almost 10 years ago, and has become so proficient she is booked to play weddings as far afield as the south of France.

Her skills have also been noticed online, with a video of her playing at Old Palace as a student, hitting 1m views earlier this summer.

She said: “I have played the piano for as long as I can remember. When I picked up the accordion, it was like – this isn’t as hard as I thought, and I have never looked back.”

With the old video grabbing so much attention Ms Sage, who has just finished her degree in French politics at Exeter University, travelled to Paris to record a new video last month.

She said: “I felt it was time to update things. It’s nice to have something up which isn’t full of my mistakes too.”

With a CD of her own compositions available, Ms Sage is now practising before headlining the Big Squeeze International Accordion Festival, Gipsy Hill Tavern, Crystal Palace, on September 1.