TAMI NEILSON

Tami Neilson was raised in Canada, by parents with a closet full of sequined stage costumes and platform shoes. She grew up in a house where amplifiers and guitar cases were just as much a part of the furniture as chairs and tables, and when most kids are still singing nursery rhymes in the bathtub, she was traveling across North America in a 34 foot motor home, performing professionally in her family band, The Neilsons. Sharing the stage with the likes of Johnny Cash, Tami appeared regularly on television and radio, touring North America, promoting The Neilsons independent CD and releasing 2 top 40 singles on the Canadian music charts.

Then Tami met a boy who caused her heart to flutter and her feet to move to the other side of the world. She arrived in New Zealand, releasing her Tui award-winning debut solo album, “Red Dirt Angel”, which included the single “Sister Cash”, a duet with Joanne Cash. Her second release, "The Kitchen Table Sessions" won Best Country Album 2010, making her the first person to win the award two years in a row. Hot on the heels of being presented “Best Female Country Artist” at the 2011 New Zealand Country Music Awards, this highly prolific artist released Volume 2 of “The Kitchen Table Sessions”, which has just won her a third Tui Award in 2012.

Buzzing with raw energy and talent, her music is a hybrid of acoustic torch and stripped-bare country blues. From haunting ballads of heartbreak and irony to foot-stomping, hand-clapping, harmony-infused numbers, Tami’s live performance is one to be remembered.

WINNER OF THE NEW ZEALAND MUSIC AWARDS

"Best Country Album 2009"

"Best Country Album 2010"

"Best Country Album 2012"

WINNER OF THE NZ COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

"Best Female Artist 2010"

"Best Female Artist 2011”