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Hometown: Auckland, NZ
Label: Independent
Website: www.tamineilson.com
Sounds Like: Patsy Cline, Wanda Jackson, Mavis Staples, Roy Orbison, Big Mama Thornton
Genre: Country
"Tami Neilson is a fire-breathing belter on her own terms." - ROLLING STONE
"There are singers, and then there is Tami Neilson, for whom the word singer just isn't big enough." -HMV
"A great big canyon of a voice.." -DOWNBEAT
With a soulful voice straight from the golden age of soul, country and rockabilly music, Tami Neilson has been described as "A red-hot honky-tonker, somewhere between Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson with perhaps just a little bit of Peggy Lee sophistication.” (Nick Bollinger, NZ National Radio)
Singing her heart out along endless roads and stages, from her days as a young girl in Canada touring with the Neilson Family band, opening for the likes of Johnny Cash, to her full blossoming in New Zealand as a formidable talent in her own right, Tami Neilson has won the Tui Award for each of her past four albums.
In 2014, Tami was also awarded the APRA Silver Scroll, New Zealand's most prestigious music award for excellence in songwriting, for her song “Walk (Back to Your Arms)”, as well as “Best Female Artist” at the National Country Music Awards and APRA’s “Best Country Song” at the NZ Country Music Awards. The release of her explosive album “Dynamite!” received rave reviews in MOJO, The Guardian (named “Top 10 Best Country Music Album”) and climbed to #1 on the NZ Music Charts, and winning the title of 2015’s “Best Country Music Album”.
A 5 Star review in the NZ Herald claimed “This world-class album is a major statement from an artist at the top of her lyrical and vocal game.”
Just 18 months after “Dynamite!”, this prolific artist released her follow-up album, “Don’t Be Afraid” to critical acclaim, debuting on the NZ Album Charts and the Independent Music Charts at #1, proving that the powerhouse that is Tami Neilson is a force to be reckoned with.
In 2018, Tami released the critically acclaimed “SASSAFRASS!”, nominated for “Album of the Year” at the NZ Music Awards, receiving glowing reviews in Rolling Stone Country, American Songwriter, Pop Matters and No Depression.
With a rigorous international touring schedule, Tami plays sold out shows across North America, New Zealand and Europe, has climbed the US Americana charts, had song placements on the TV Series “Nashville” and Netflix series, “Wanted” and scored Season 2 of the TV Series “The Brokenwood Mysteries“.
"Tami Neilson is a fire-breathing belter on her own terms."
Rolling Stone
"Tami Neilson is the greatest singer of any genre I have ever witnessed, and if there’s any justice in this crooked world, soon the rest of humanity will at least be given a chance to behold this for themselves."
Kyle Coroneos - Saving Country Music
"A great big canyon of a voice..."
DOWNBEAT Magazine
"There are singers, an then there is Tami Neilson, for whom the word singer just isn't big enough."
HMV
"Tami Neilson is one of the most exciting artists in country music today...firmly in league with the genre’s all-time greatest vocalists. She’s bringing to country music what acts like Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones & The DAP-Kings have brought to R&B. "
Jonathan Keefe - Country Universe
“Gifted with a voice that summons Patsy Cline's ghost, hair high enough to make Dolly proud, and a style lifted straight from the Saturday night stage at the Grand Ole Opry, Neilson's most recent records time machine back to the era of classic country with a few sidesteps into Sun Records-style rock 'n' roll, blues, and soul.”
Aaron Brophy - The Bluegrass Situation (USA)
““Quite simply, this is killer stuff. Your jaw will drop at first listen to the voice belting it out on the opening cut "Walk (Back To Your Arms)”.”
9 out of 10 Review”
Kerry Doole - EXCLAIM! Magazine
"A red-hot honky-tonker, somewhere between Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson with perhaps just a little bit of Peggy Lee sophistication.”
Nick Bollinger - Radio National New Zealand
"Neilson blends the ambience of Old West saloons with the pastel palette of a 1950s beach musical, and her soulful bellow breathes modern life into a vintage collection." The Guardian's 10 Best Country Music Records of 2014
Grady Smith - The Guardian, USA
““Tami Neilson is not a stage name. In fact, there’s nothing fake about Tami. The ballads come tearful and twangful, the uptempo fare tumbles out in pure rockabilly mode….a combination of Wanda Jackson and Patsy Cline.””
Fred Dellar - MOJO
““Tami Neilson’s voice is magic…Dynamite! more than earns its exclamation point. In fact, it’s one of the best Canadian albums this year, and establishes Neilson as a major “new” talent.””
Andrea Warner - CBC Music
"This world-class album is a major statement from an artist at the top of her lyrical and vocal game...all these originals sound like freshly coined classics." Five Star Review
Graham Reid - The NZ Herald
"Her voice alone will stop you in your tracks, so powerful and full of colour is it."
Lydia Jenkin - The New Zealand Herald
““Truly top shelf....Tami Neilson has the looks and the voice to get any song across to any audience...””
Randy Bachman - The Guess Who
