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Nearly £4,000 has been raised in less than a week to send Bristol's most iconic gig-goer to a major music conference and festival in the US.

Jeffrey Johns, or 'Big Jeff' as he's affectionately known, has attended gigs at various venues across Bristol pretty much every night for over two decades.

The saying goes that if you see his unmistakable mass of hair near the front of the venue when you arrive, you know you're at the right gig.

This year the renowned music lover has been invited to talk at the South by Southwest music conference and festival in Austin, Texas - the largest of its kind in the world - held in March.

(Image: Getty Images for SXSW)

Jeff, who has Asperger’s and dyspraxia, has been an ambassador for the UK Independent Venue Week for the past three years, and this year the team behind IVW have asked him to be part of a panel they are hosting on 'Diversity In Live Music On & Off The Stage'.

Jeff will be the only person on this panel and one of only a handful of people at the entire conference speaking first-hand about access issues at venues.

Successful fundraiser

The campaign to raise the £3,500 required to fund Jeff's trip was launched by his parents five days ago, and has now raised £3,984 at the time of writing.

This amount will allow Jeff to travel and stay in the heart of Austin for the duration of the festival.

He will be sharing his experiences in a blog hosted by Independent Venue Week which will aim to inspire others.

On the GoFundMe page his mum said: "It will also give him a huge boost to know that many people love what he’s doing are encouraging him to explore further."

Big Jeff shared the news of the successful fundraiser to his 14,000 Twitter followers today (February 3), writing: "Well the target hasn't so much as been hit but completely smashed.

"Thanks to everyone who has chipped in, it's been really quite amazing."

On the GoFundMe page, Jeff wrote: "Being given the opportunity to travel & speak more openly & publicly will not only help build my confidence but also build my profile & help me be seen as a spokesperson for people with similar feelings.

"This takes me out of my comfort zone but I’m really keen to push myself & speak openly about my challenges.

"To do this in another country is a big opportunity & Independent Venue Week asking me means they feel I am ready for this next step."

If you would like to add to the amount, the GoFundMe page is still active. To donate and for more information, click here.