Veronica has a reputation as the UK's finest female Asian artist, so festival goers are in for a treat with her performance at the Mela.

She's one of the biggest acts at the Mela this year and with her upbeat tracks you just can't help but dance to, Veronica will bring a great vibe to the festival.

"It's really nice to be able to go to more of a family atmosphere than when you're in a club and it's all just youngsters," says Veronica.

"You get to see young children, parents and grandparents all enjoying it together."

Veronica is part of Rishi Rich's production company, a force to be reckoned with in the world of Asian music who works with some of the genre's biggest artists.

"I've known Rishi since I was 16 and whatever management or record company I've been with, he's always been my producer.

"Now he's opened up his own company, a production label that's got a fantastic team behind it. We've got some up and coming artists and it's good to be able to produce on other people's albums too.

"It's really exciting to see how we will all progress."

In April this year, the company ran a workshop academy in London to teach aspiring artists about the music industry, which Veronica helped with.

"With the Rishi Rich Academy we wanted to set up something for youngsters to give them opportunities we didn't have when we were starting out.

"When we started our careers, being Asian, people looked at you like what are you doing in mainstream music, or the underground scene, or R 'n' B.

"We gave kids opportunities to learn and passed on our knowledge to them."

She was the first woman to be number one in the BBC Asian Network Album Chart and has won awards from organisations such as MTV and the UK Asian Music Awards.

There's a lot to be proud of, but Veronica says she's worked hard to get there.

"I'm proudest of my perseverance. When you get knocked down, to be able to get back up again, a lot of people don't have that quality in them.

"I'm really proud of my awards, especially my MTV one for best international female Bhangra act. Getting recognised by somewhere like MTV, especially for international things, makes you realise you've been able to reach such a wide audience and not just in the UK."

Veronica isn't just a singer (and in three languages – Hindi, Punjabi and English) – she's also written for artists including Jay Sean and Misteeq, and is writing and producing for new Rishi Rich artist Tasha Tah.

"Singing and songwriting, I love it all the same. I love performing my own songs and there's nothing like writing something and knowing exactly how to get the emotion out and what you're trying to do with the lyrics and melody.

"But I've also worked heavily on the albums and singles coming out for our new artists and I've really enjoyed that."

Look out for Veronica's new album, Rush, out in October, which is keeping her busy at the moment.

"There are some fantastic songs on there and great collaborations. I've also done a duet with H-Dhami. People know the track Rush and they've got a lot of love for that song. We're just shooting the video for my next single, Addicted.

"I think the album is a lot younger and fresher and a lot more of a fusion between dance, pop and Asian Indian music."

www.veronicauk.com