A teenager busking in Kent only a year ago is set to support a chart-topping US singer at one of London’s most acclaimed festivals.

It has been a whirlwind year for 18-year-old Jasper Hodges, who first played his guitar in Canterbury’s backstreets, aged 13, where, he says, he often felt ‘no one was listening’.

But thanks to a loyal and fast-growing fan base, where his modest 800 Instagram followers ballooned to 33,000 in the last 18 months, his catchy rhyming lyrics and enviable work ethic have now grabbed the attention of those across the music industry.

This spring, armed with his guitar, Jasper was invited on tour with English singer-songwriter Louis Dunford as his main support - performing 15 dates across the UK, including a sell-out gig at London’s Alexandra Palace to 10,000 revellers.

His warm-up shows for Dunford, the son of actress Linda Robson and known for writing the ‘North London Forever’ Arsenal FC anthem, ‘The Angel’, propelled Jasper’s raw talent further into the spotlight.

It’s a huge leap for the former Canterbury Academy pupil who would diligently save the small amount of money he made performing on Canterbury’s cobbled streets in the hope of one day buying better equipment for himself.

“I started with just going with my acoustic guitar,” recalls Jasper.

“When I was doing the busking, no one really wanted me to play their pubs.”

As time passed, and still struggling for a ‘way in’, Jasper turned his attention to the internet, and focussed on growing his social media profile by writing, recording and posting one new song each day - a challenge he kept up consistently for over 400 days.

“It’s all just through grafting on Instagram” he said.

“The first 60 days of posting a song I had almost no reaction.”

But persistence paid off and steadily 800 followers became 2,000, after 80 days 10,000 people had joined, and his following continues to grow.

That ‘snowball effect’, says Jasper, has opened further doors in - what his management team describe as - an ‘extraordinary DIY journey’.

Thanks to a two-year deal with recording firm AWAL, the teen’s first single Here and Now hit streaming platforms on Friday (June 6), bolstered already by more than 30,000 pre-saves.

And a huge open air concert in London supporting American country singer Zach Bryan is just weeks away.

Grammy-award winner Bryan is playing two concerts as part of the star-studded line-up at this year’s British Summer Time (BST) Hyde Park festival.

Jasper will take to the stage on Sunday, June 29, as part of a small group of carefully-selected support acts that also includes chart-topping Irish singer Dermot Kennedy.

“I don’t really get nervous. I’m excited. I get really excited,” he said.

One of nine children - Jasper credits his mum Kathleen and dad Joe with instilling in him and his siblings an understanding that they must work hard for something if they want it badly enough.

He said: “I think I have always been taught that if you want something in life that you have got to go and get it because no one is going to give it to you.”

And that means Jasper has plenty more dreams and plans in the pipeline - from further single releases to his own tour later this year.

He said: “I am not done here. I really want to be the biggest and I know I won’t stop until I am.

“I will work harder than anyone until I get there.”