FREE download from the new album!

Only 3 more sleeps to go until Christmas so I thought I'd give my lovely fans a free download of the first single "One Thing" from my new album "The Kitchen Table Sessions Vol II" (now available on iTunes, in stores and online at www.amplifier.co.nz). All you have to do is join my mailing list if you haven't already :)

This past year has been amazing for me and I just wanted to take this moment to thank each of you for your support, for coming out to shows, buying CDs and helping push me along on this fantastic journey- you're the reason I can keep doing what I love!

If 2010 was this great, 2011 is going to be incredible! Kicking off the year with 2 national tours, first the Topp Twins Summer Hoe Down, followed by my own tour "Chanteuses & Shotguns" with Lauren Thomson to launch our new "sister albums"! (Tickets are already on sale here if you need a last minute stocking stuffer! : http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/theme/2010/lauren-thomson-tami-neilson-chanteuses-shotguns-tour).

I'm also excited to announce that after all these years of being self-managed, I have just taken on representation with Diva Productions' Arani Cuthbert! She also manages Don McGlashan and the Topp Twins, so I know we'll be a perfect fit as she can obviously handle both serious songwriters AND people who are slightly crazy ;-) hehe.

Have a fantastic holiday season and I hope to see you when I tour through your area in the new year!

Big hugs,

Tami x

"Chanteuses & Shotguns" Tour- Summer 2011

chanteuse f. (plural chanteuses)
1. A (female) singer.

shotgun (plural shotguns)
1. bang bang. dead

Loading up another round after the successful 2010 tour “Saints & Sinners”, Canadian-born Tami Neilson (two-time Tui Award winner for Best Country Album 2009 & 2010) joins forces once again with Lauren Thomson (winner of the NZ Songwriting Trust 2010 and APRA Silver Scroll nominee) for the 20-date national tour “Chanteuses & Shotguns”.

Launching the collaborative “sister albums” they recorded in Canada earlier this year: Tami’s “The Kitchen Table Sessions Vol II” (the follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed Vol 1) and Lauren’s highly anticipated full-length release, “Chanteuses & Shotguns”, they will be bringing their foot-stomping, harmony-infused music across the nation on their 20-date tour with what Metro magazine calls “A soulful blend of alt-country and folk”.

“I seriously doubt you'll find more talented women sharing a stage anywhere in this country than these singer-songwriters: not only do they individually have terrific and memorable songs (many of them), but they play the heartfelt ones from places deep inside and their arse-kicking ones with undiluted energy" - Graham Reid, Elsewhere


CHANTEUSES & SHOTGUNS TOUR DATES:

17 Feb COOKS BEACH, Eggsentric Cafe*
18 Feb WAIHEKE, Artworks Theatre*
19 Feb AUCKLAND, Devonport Wine & Food Festival
20 Feb AUCKLAND, Juice Bar*
25 Feb CROMWELL, The Shed @ Northburn Station
26 Feb GORE, Hokonui Moonshiners Festival
27 Feb DUNEDIN, New Edinburgh Folk Club*
3 Mar OAMARU, The Penguin Club*
4 Mar CHRISTCHURCH, The Harbour Light*
5 Mar GERALDINE, Geraldine Cinema*
6 Mar KAIKOURA, Mayfair Theatre*
10 Mar TAKAKA, Mussel Inn*
11 Mar NELSON, Yaza Café*
12 Mar PICTON, Le Café*
17 Mar CARTERTON, The Lounge
18 Mar PALMERSTON NORTH, The Bent Horseshoe*
19 Mar WELLINGTON, Meow*
24 Mar WHANGAREI, Salut Bar*
25 Mar RAGLAN, Orca* (9.30pm)

All shows start at 8pm, unless stated otherwise
* Support by special guest Mark Mazengarb

BUY TICKETS NOW: http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/theme/2010/lauren-thomson-tami-neilson-chanteuses-shotguns-tour

Sponsors:
Creative NZ
Britz Campervan Hire

Tami Tours with Topp Twins....say that 5 times, fast!

New Zealand’s cream of contemporary alt-country and bluegrass artists will be playing amongst the vines this summer when the Topp Twins and Special Guests legendary Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, fiddler extraordinaire Marian Burns, Best Female Artist 2010 Country Music Awards, Tami Neilson and young rising star, Cameron Luxton appear at boutique wineries in January and February 2011.

TAMI NEILSON supporting TONI CHILDS- NZ TOUR

Three-time Grammy nominee TONI CHILDS is set to thrill audiences with her signature husky vocals and emotive lyrics during a seven-city New Zealand tour this month.

Fresh from performing a string of sell-out shows in Australia, Toni will perform her blockbuster hits including Stop Your Fussin', as well as showcasing her latest hit album Keep The Faith. The songs from this emotionally hard-hitting album are a blend of roots, rock, folk and gospel songs.

Best known for her heavily R&B influenced Don't Walk Away, Toni hit the big time in 1988 when her critically acclaimed debut album Union went Double Platinum in New Zealand, selling 75,000 copies. The same year she was nominated for three Grammys, including Best New Artist.

Supporting Toni will be Canadian-born TAMI NEILSON, who, since relocating to New Zealand has won two NZ Music Awards for Best Country Album for both 2009 and 2010.


21 Oct WELLINGTON, Opera House
22 Oct HASTINGS, Hawkes Bay Opera House
23 Oct HAMILTON, Founders Theatre
26 Oct AUCKLAND, Bruce Mason Centre
28 Oct PALMERSTON NORTH, Regent on Broadway
29 Oct NEW PLAYMOUTH, TSB Showplace
30 Oct CHRISTCHURCH, Isaac Theatre Royal

Tami Wins "Best Female Artist 2010" at the NZ Country Music Awards!

An audience of enthusiastic country music fans filled the 1200 seat Founders Theatre in Hamilton this past weekend where Tami Neilson was awarded "Best Female Artist 2010" at the National Country Music Awards. The show included performances by Tami, Marian Burns, JamesRay and The Topp Twins, who were presented with the "Country Music Legend Award".

Cover Girl Tami Neilson for Sunday Magazine

1 Aug 2010
Sunday Magazine
Hip to be Hick :The hardy crop of Kiwis making country music cool

Whether you prefer it slick and glossy, feral and munterish or dark and melancholy, New Zealand makes country music all ways. Grant Smithies surveys the wide range of sounds happening on the Kiwi country scene...

Some music snobs maintain that country music is just corny cowboy crap written for yokels who live in those dull provincial outposts referred to by TV programmers as “the heartland”. They imagine mutton-fed squares out in Deliverance country line-dancing in checked shirts and Hallensteins slacks. But country music has never been so easily defined or dismissed. Like rock, pop or hip hop, it has evolved since its inception, mutating like a particularly frisky virus, cross-breeding shamelessly with other styles. In New Zealand, musicians have been putting their spin on country music for decades.

Canada-born country singer Tami Neilson has won Best Country Album at the New Zealand Music Awards for the last two years, and it’s easy to see why. Rather than choose sides between slick Nashville country-pop and a more fashionable alternative country sound, she keeps one cowboy-booted foot in each camp. Recorded in her brother’s kitchen using an old refrigerator box as a vocal booth, her latest album, The Kitchen Table Sessions, contains hectic bluegrass versions of Dave Dobbyn’s “Slice of Heaven” and Scribe’s “Not Many” alongside the kinds of glossy ballads you might hear at the annual Gold Guitar Awards in Gore. Throughout, Neilson sings her heart out, recalling a cross between Roy Orbison and Patsy Cline.
“Well, country has a lot of range, and I try to get all that range into my music. A lot of people over here say they hate country music, yet they love Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams, and you can’t spit in New Zealand without hitting a country music club. You guys love country but you just don’t know it.”
Back in Ontario, Neilson’s parents played music professionally since before she was born. “We have footage of me on stage with them in a little frilly white dress when I’m not even two. I can’t talk yet, but I can sing. My dad’s trying to get the microphone off me, and I’m freaking out, and Mum’s waving my milk bottle at me to seduce me off the stage.”
From the age of 12, Neilson travelled with her parents and two brothers in a Partridge Family-style motor home, playing as a family band across Canada and the US. They performed regularly on TV, had two Top 20 hits, and shared stages with Brenda Lee and Loretta Lynn. She even opened for Johnny Cash in her pyjamas after an electrical fire on the bus destroyed their stage outfits.
“And then I married a New Zealander and had to start all over again. That was a real shock. I’d had this professional career since I was a teenager, then five years ago I had to start afresh in this place where so many people are hostile towards country music. Back in North America, country music is seen as being cool and cutting edge, whereas in New Zealand I was getting all this advice from people in the music industry, like, ‘Don’t say the ‘C’ word. It’s a dirty word over here.’ I was like, really?
“But at least I’m unique here. The fact that I’m singing country is a point of difference, and so is the fact that I’m this maple Kiwi: half Canadian, half Kiwi. Also, I think being Canadian gave me the confidence to do country versions of Kiwi songs that are iconic to you guys, whereas Kiwi musicians might be afraid to try things like that because of that whole tall poppy thing.
“Really, winning you guys over is like a challenge to me, and it seems to be working. Every time I tour, there are more hip, young city people at my gigs, and the minute we pull out a banjo, they freak out, they’re so excited. People are like, ‘Banjo! Awesome!’ Maybe it’s finally becoming cool to be a hick.” “The minute we pull out a banjo, people are like, ‘Awesome!’ Maybe it’s finally becoming cool to be a hick”

Neilson Wins Again!

COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Tami Neilson and Matt Langley Strike Country Gold

The nation’s biggest awards night on the country music calendar has seen the gongs handed out for Best Country Music Album and Best Country Song of 2010 at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in Gore tonight (June 4).

Tami Neilson has followed up her 2009 win by picking up the Recording Industry Association (RIANZ) Best Country Music Album while Matt Langley has taken out the APRA Best Country Song for 2010.

Auckland-based Neilson’s ‘The Kitchen Table Sessions’ took out the award ahead of other finalists The Bads for ‘So Alive’ and The Topp Twins for ‘Honky Tonk Angel’.

‘The Kitchen Table Sessions’ features guest performances by members of the Neilson family and includes several blue grass takes on classic songs such as ‘Slice of Heaven’, ‘Salty Dog Blues’ and ‘I Fall to Pieces’.

Tami is no stranger to the Country Music Awards with her album ‘Red Dirt Angel’ winning Best Country Music Album last year. Her single ‘Cry Myself to Sleep’ was also a finalist for the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Best Country Song Award.

Canadian-born Neilson’s soulful take on country music has seen her carve a solid following in both New Zealand and Australia.

Having toured Canada with her parents’ band as a young girl, Tami is used to living life on the move. As well as and several stints in Australia and New Zealand, she recently finished the ‘Saints and Sinners’ tour of New Zealand, which received rave reviews. Tami will also be touring Canada in July.

RIANZ CEO Campbell Smith says Tami’s win highlights the calibre of country music artists in New Zealand. “This is Tami’s second Tui in as many years and that in itself shows just how talented and prolific she is as an artist. She is a wonderful asset to our local country music scene and is very deserving of the recognition that taking home a Tui brings.”

Ant Healey, director of New Zealand operations for APRA, says: “We have a uniquely Kiwi take on country music in New Zealand and each year it’s exciting for us to see what local writers are producing. It’s great to see excellent musicians such as Tami and Matt being recognised for their contribution to a great genre of music.”

Attracting more than 5,000 country music fans during the festival, Gore’s Gold Guitar week is in its 37th year.

http://www.nzmusicawards.co.nz/2010/06/08/country-music-award-winners-announced/

Country Album Finalists Announced

The finalists for the RIANZ Best Country Music Album 2010 were announced today.

They are The Bads for 'So Alive', Tami Neilson for 'The Kitchen Table Sessions' and The Topp Twins for 'Honky Tonk Angel'.

Awards are to be presented on June 4 at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in Gore.

Dianne Swann and Brett Adams are The Bads and they have worked together since 1992. So Alive is the duo's 2nd album, four years after 'Earth From Space'. The title track was the first single from the album and was featured as the theme song for the award winning TV series 'Hunger For The Wild'.

Canada-raised Tami Neilson features in the RIANZ Best Country Music Album Award category for the second year in a row after taking out the title in 2009 for 'Red Dirt Angel'.
Neilson now lives in Auckland and tours New Zealand regularly. 'The Kitchen Table Sessions' was recorded with various other Neilson family members and features a blue grass version of Dave Dobbyn's 'Slice of Heaven'.

Lynda and Jools Topp are New Zealand cultural icons and extremely talented songwriters and recording artists, as critics the world over acknowledge. They have two previous Best Country album wins - for 'Grass Highway' in 2001 and 'Flowergirls and Cowgirls' in 2005. In 2008 they were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.
'Honky Tonk Angel' was produced by old friend Don McGlashan with his band The Seven Sisters playing on most of the tracks.

RIANZ CEO Campbell Smith is glad he's not one of the judges:
"This is one of the strongest line-ups in this RIANZ Best Country Album category that I can remember. Two of the finalists have won the award before and the third is one of New Zealand's most talented duos. It's going to be very hard to pick a winner.
"I wish all three finalists the best of luck."

Canada Shows Announced!

Having just been nominated for the 2nd year in a row for New Zealand's Best Country Album, Tami Neilson is reunited with her family to perform songs from their award-nominated 'The Kitchen Table Sessions" album. She will also be joined by special guest, New Zealand artist Lauren Thomson!

This only comes around once a year with a few exclusive shows in Ontario, so don't miss out!

25 June: Moonshine Cafe, Oakville, 9pm
BUY TICKETS:

http://www.sellyourevents.com/TamiNeilsonTheKitchenTableSessionsLIVE!TheMoonshineCafe.aspx

26 June: Kerr St Market, Oakville, 10am-1pm

27 June: Legion Hall, Stoney Creek, 3pm

9 July: London Music Club, London, 7:30pm
BUY TICKETS:

http://www.ticketscene.ca/events/1930

10 July: South Simcoe Theatre, Cookstown, 8pm
BUY TICKETS:

http://www.sellyourevents.com/eventpage.aspx?name=TamiNeilsonTheKitchenTableSessionsfeaturingRonNeilsonJayNeilsonspecialguestLaurenThomson

An Encore Auckland Show Added to Saints & Sinners Tour!

For those of you who missed out the first time around, or wished you'd brought your friends (or Mums!) Saints & Sinners has added another Auckland show to the tour!

SUNDAY, MARCH 7th
JUICE BAR @ The Windsor Castle, Parnell Road
Doors open 7.00pm, show starts 7.30pm

Tickets: Under The Radar www.undertheradar.co.nz
Door Sales $15

Check out the following fantastic review of the show by Graham Reid, as well as a live performance on Good Morning:

http://tvnz.co.nz/good-morning/s2010-e120210-saintsandsinners-video-3362807

Review by Graham Reid
"SAINTS & SINNERS
Jackie Bristow, Lauren Thomson and Tami Neilson
Feb 2010

I seriously doubt you'll find three more talented women sharing a stage anywhere in this country than these singer-songwriters: not only do they individually have terrific and memorable songs (many of them), but they play the heartfelt ones from places deep inside and their kick-arse ones with undiluted energy.

Their humour is unaffected and infectious (a fluffed intro, a compliment that comes out wrong and so on are laughed off) and I have rarely been to a gig where there is such a sense of joy, and sheer delight in playing music for an audience. Not for these women some shoe gazing or "shucks you guys". They play their songs for themselves but reach out to their audience.

I guess that comes from having separately played gigs across the States and in Canada, and knowing that you have to try harder once you get under the lights.

But never once did these women look like they were trying: they just let the songs come out, sang harmonies with each other, swapped around their instruments and delivered great original songs (and a couple of stomping covers), some of which sound to me like contemporary alt.country classics.

I'm not going to single any one of them out, or indeed any song.

My advice is just go and see them, get a beer and prepare to be amused, engaged, made to think and laugh.

Take cash too because I'd bet you'll want to buy their albums on the door on your way out.

I'm told they are coming back for another gig in Auckland after their Saints and Sinners tour around the country.


I'll see you there -- because I /will/ be there. Again. And again.

Graham Reid
www.elsewhere.co.nz