# Tami Neilson

Tamara "Tami" Neilson is a Canadian-born New Zealand country & soul singer/songwriter. She is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2014 APRA Silver Scroll Awards and Best Country Song Award; she is also the winner of the Best Country Album at the New Zealand Music Awards in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2015, and Best Female Artist at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in 2010, 2011 & 2014.

## Biography

She grew up as a member of The Neilsons, performing with her parents and two brothers across North America, and continues to co-write much of her work with brother Joshua "Jay" Neilson, who shared her Silver Scroll win as well as producing her first three albums: Red Dirt Angel (2008), The Kitchen Table Sessions, Vol. 1 (2009) and The Kitchen Table Sessions, Vol. II (2011). They also worked together on scoring the New Zealand TV series The Brokenwood Mysteries for its second season in 2015, having previously contributed many songs to the first season's soundtrack.
Her album Don't Be Afraid (2015) debuted at No. 3 on the New Zealand Music Charts, and her previous release Dynamite! (2014) was listed in The Guardian as one of the top ten country albums of the year for 2014. In 2020, her song "Hey, Bus Driver", from the album Chickaboom, won APRA's Best Country Song Award. In 2017, Neilson also appeared as a subject of the documentary Prime Rocks: The New Sound of Country in New Zealand, alongside Marlon Williams, Delaney Davidson, and Barry Saunders from The Warratahs. In November 2020, she appeared on David Hartnell MNZM's Best Dressed List.
Neilson's 2022 album, Kingmaker included the single "Beyond the Stars", a duet with country music legend Willie Nelson, which was released to considerable acclaim after being debuted on stage in a live performance with him, at his Luck Reunion concert in March that year. The album went on to debut at #1 on the New Zealand charts in July, which was followed by a sold-out concert with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Aotea Centre, and a national tour with Chamber Music New Zealand, during which she performed "Beyond The Stars" with Bret McKenzie in Wellington. She also performed at Mariposa Folk Festival in Canada and Tønder Festival in Denmark that year. "Beyond The Stars" was nominated for the APRA Awards (New Zealand) Silver Scroll Award on 1 September 2022.
Neilson's songs have also appeared on Wanted, Nashville, and The Sounds. In 2022, Neilson herself appeared on The Brokenwood Mysteries performing "Ten Tonne Truck" on the episode "Good as Gold".

## Personal life

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Neilson relocated to Auckland, New Zealand in 2007 where she now resides. She is married to Grant Tetzlaff, a New Zealand Police inspector she first met in 2001. They have two children.
Neilson has Ojibwe ancestry.

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of albums, with selected details :
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Details | NZ |
| Red Dirt Angel | Released: 12 May 2008 Format: CD, digital download Label: Neilson Records, Southbound, Ode Records | — |
| The Kitchen Table Sessions, Vol. 1 (with Jay Neilson) | Released: 1 June 2009 Format: CD, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound | — |
| The Kitchen Table Sessions, Vol. II (with Lauren Thomson) | Released: 1 January 2011 Format: CD, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound | — |
| Dynamite! | Released: 21 March 2014 Format: CD, LP, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound | 10 |
| Don't Be Afraid | Released: 25 September 2015 Format: CD, LP, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound, Monkey Music, Outside Studios | 3 |
| Sassafrass! | Released: 1 June 2018 Format: CD, LP, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound, Outside | 6 |
| Chickaboom! | Released: 14 February 2020 Format: CD, LP, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound, Outside | 8 |
| Kingmaker | Released: 15 July 2022 Format: CD, LP, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound, Outside | 1 |
| Neilson Sings Nelson | Released: 6 September 2024 Format: CD, LP, digital download Label: Neilson, Southbound, The Orchard | 12 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. |||

### Collaborative albums

List of albums, with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Chanteuses & Shotguns (Lauren Thomson featuring Tami Neilson) | Released: 24 January 2011 Format: CD, digital download Label: Ode Records |

### Live albums

List of albums, with selected details :
| Title | Details |
| Songs of Sinners Live | Released: 23 November 2017 Format: CD, digital download Label: Neilson Records, Southbound |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | NZ Artist | NZ Artist Hot | Album |
| "Walk (Back to Your Arms)" | 2014 | 5 | — | Dynamite! |
| "Dynamite" | 2015 | — | — | Dynamite! |
| "Lonely" (featuring Marlon Williams) | 2015 | — | — | Don’t Be Afraid |
| "Holy Moses" | 2016 | — | — | Don’t Be Afraid |
| "Loco Mama" | 2016 | — | — | Don’t Be Afraid |
| "Reap What You Sow" | 2017 | — | — | Songs of Sinners Live |
| "Stay Outta My Business" | 2018 | — | — | Sassafrass! |
| "Manitoba Sunrise at Motel 6" | 2018 | — | — | Sassafrass! |
| "Devil in a Dress" | 2018 | — | — | Sassafrass! |
| "Big Boss Mama" | 2019 | — | 19 | Non-album single |
| "Hey Bus Driver!" (featuring Jay Neilson) | 2019 | — | — | Chickaboom! |
| "Any Fool with a Heart" (featuring Jay Neilson) | 2019 | — | — | Chickaboom! |
| "Ten Tonne Truck" | 2019 | — | — | Chickaboom! |
| "You Were Mine" | 2020 | — | — | Chickaboom! |
| "Queenie, Queenie" | 2020 | — | — | Chickaboom! |
| "Pretty Paper" | 2020 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "River" | 2021 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Beyond the Stars" (featuring Willie Nelson) | 2022 | — | 10 | Kingmaker |
| "Baby You're a Gun" | 2022 | — | — | Kingmaker |
| "Careless Woman" | 2022 | — | — | Kingmaker |
| "Kingmaker" | 2022 | — | — | Kingmaker |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart. |||||

#### As featured artist

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | NZ Artist Hot | Album |
| "Trouble Finds a Girl" (Jenny Mitchell featuring Tami Neilson) | 2021 | 20 | Tug of War |

#### Promotional singles

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Crazy" | 2018 | Brokenwood Mysteries (Music from the Original TV Series), Vol. 3 |

#### Other charted songs

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | NZ Artist Hot | Album |
| "Roimata / Cry Myself to Sleep" | 2019 | 19 | Waiata / Anthems |
| "Mama's Talkin'" | 2022 | 14 | Kingmaker |

## APRA Awards (New Zealand)

The APRA Awards (New Zealand) are presented annually by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members. The APRA Silver Scroll Award is awarded purely on the basis of songwriting.
| Year | Award | For | Result |
| 2014 APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Silver Scroll | Tami Neilson / Joshua Neilson, "Walk (Back To Your Arms)" | Won |
| 2016 APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Silver Scroll | Tami Neilson / Joshua Neilson, "The First Man" | Nominated |
| 2022 APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Silver Scroll | Tami Neilson / Delaney Davidson, "Beyond the Stars" | Nominated |

## New Zealand/Aotearoa Music Awards

The New Zealand Music Awards are presented annually by Recorded Music NZ recognising outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording field. Tami has been nominated multiple times for a number of awards, and won many of them.
| Year | Award | For | Result |
| 2009 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Album | Red Dirt Angel | Won |
| 2010 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Album | The Kitchen Table Sessions | Won |
| 2012 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Album | The Kitchen Table Sessions Vol II | Won |
| 2014 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Song | Tami Neilson / Delaney Davidson, "Whiskey & Kisses" | Won |
| 2015 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Album | Dynamite! | Won |
| 2015 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Song | Tami Neilson, "You Lie" | Nominated |
| 2016 New Zealand Music Awards | Album of the Year | Don't Be Afraid | Nominated |
| 2016 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Female Solo Artist | Tami Neilson | Nominated |
| 2018 New Zealand Music Awards | Album of the Year | Sassafrass! | Nominated |
| 2018 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Solo Artist | Tami Neilson | Nominated |
| 2018 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Album Cover | Tami Neilson, Ashley Church, Jules Koblun | Nominated |
| 2019 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Album | Sassafrass! | Nominated |
| 2019 New Zealand Music Awards | Best Country Music Song | Tami Neilson / Joshua Neilson, "Manitoba Sunrise at Motel 6" | Nominated |
| 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards | Album of the Year | Chickaboom! | Nominated |
| 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards | Best Country Music Song | Tami Neilson / Joshua Neilson, "Hey Bus Driver" | Won |
| 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards | Best Country Music Song | Tami Neilson / Joshua Neilson, "Any Fool with a Heart" | Nominated |
| 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards | Best Country Music Album | Chickaboom! | Won |
| 2021 Aotearoa Music Awards | Best Country Music Song | Tami Neilson, "Queenie, Queenie" | Won |

## Taite Music Prize

The Taite Music Prize is an annual New Zealand music award for the best album from New Zealand. Tami Neilson has been nominated four times, more than any other solo artist (and equal with Lawrence Arabia).
| Year | For | Result |
| 2015 Taite Music Prize | Dynamite! | Nominated |
| 2019 Taite Music Prize | Sassafrass! | Nominated |
| 2021 Taite Music Prize | Chickaboom! | Nominated |
| 2023 Taite Music Prize | Kingmaker | Nominated |