No one forgets the first time they saw Tami Neilson.
She can hush a room with an original song that channels the hurting spirit of Patsy Cline or the sensuality of Peggy Lee, or bring the audience to its feet on a rockabilly raver. She’s an artist with real range, whose powerful voice can take on big ballads, golden-age country, heartfelt Gospel, soul-infused R&B, Western swing, even old-style rock ‘n’ roll. Tami encompasses them all and is a personality-powered cyclonic force of nature in stylishly retro attire, long lashes and a stacked-high beehive.
Tami grew up performing across North America with the Neilson Family Band, working alongside greats such as Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker, and Kitty Wells. With her parents Betty and Ron, and two brothers Todd and Jay, she spent years on the road learning her craft. This enabled Tami to explore her increasing vocal and emotional range and build a deep well of musical influences to draw upon when she started to write her own material.
Subsequently, Tami fell in love with a New Zealander, moved to the bottom of the world and began her solo career without the support of the family. Over many years she built a platform for herself through open-mic nights, playing soulless casinos and the dead-air time-slots at festivals, finding a small group of fellow travelers and supportive players, and then a series of increasingly impressive albums followed.
Tami's most recent album, 2020's "CHICKABOOM!" took her music around the world at a time when a global lockdown wouldn't allow her to. It won her nominations and awards in both of her home countries - Canada and New Zealand - while winning praise from media all over:
"Just call 2020 the Year of Tami, no hindsight required. The first great album of the year." - No Depression (January 2020)
"Whomever said they don't make them like they used to obviously hasn't heard Tami Neilson. 2020's CHICKABOOM! doubles down on Neilson's firecracker voice and throwback thrust." - Rolling Stone (February 2020)
"Intoxicating." - Billboard (January 2020)