TAMI NEILSON 'LOCO MAMA'

After an electrifying performance at the NZ Music Awards, The TAMI Show returns with "Loco Mama”,  from the  VNZMA "Album of the Year" nominated "Don't Be Afraid". 

"Loco Mama" was filmed on one camera, in one breathless take...because when you're a Loco Mama, that's all you've got time for! 

In the words of Elmore Magazine (USA), "Loco Mama shakes and smokes...Mexicali spice in both the music, and Neilson’s voice..." 


Recently returned from touring Canada, Showcasing at the Nashville Americana Fest and hitting the US Americana Charts Top 40, Tami Neilson has had a busy year!

Internationally, 2016 has seen Tami play to sold out shows in Canada, hit the US Americana Charts Top 40, have a song from “Don’t Be Afraid” placed on the TV Series “Nashville”, hold prime-time interviews on CBC Canada and gain airplay on several BBC Stations.

In New Zealand she has gone on to score the TV Series “Brokenwood Mysteries 2“ and play host of shows including performing at the 2015 & 2016 Vodafone Music Awards, Womad NZ ,Auckland City Limits and National Tour with her longtime collaborators Delaney Davidson and Marlon Williams.

“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 Canada

"With a soulful voice straight from the golden age of 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”), 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.

New Zealand media were all in agreement on the strength “Don’t Be Afraid”, with the album going rave reviews from all corners - 4.5 & 5 Star reviews from the NZ Herald, NZ Listener, Sunday Star Times, Rip It Up, Dominion Post and Radio New Zealand just to mention a few.

“It’s not often that you’ll come across an album that grabs you by the arm, reaches down your throat and wrenches your heart like this one..”
 Lydia Jenkin, NZ Herald5 Stars

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR MAIOHA, SOUNZ, FILM AND SERIES

Some of the finest talent New Zealand has to offer has been shortlisted for four prestigious awards to be presented at the 2016 APRA Silver Scroll Awards. 
 
The APRA Maioha Award, the SOUNZ Contemporary Award, the APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award and APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award will all be presented at an awards ceremony at Vector Arena in Auckland on Thursday, September 29.
 

APRA MAIOHA AWARD

The APRA Maioha Award recognises exceptional waiata featuring te reo Māori. Rob Ruhais a finalist for the award with his song ‘Kariri’, a powerful and stirring waiata that retells historical accounts of the battle of Pukehinahina (Gate Pa) and Te Ranga.
 
IHI has also been short-listed for ‘Mana Whenua’ co-written by Thomas Rawiri andMokoia Huata. The song echoes the proverb ‘Toi Tu te Whenua, whatungarongaro te Tangata’ or ‘For without land there would be no people’. It serves as a poignant reminder of the need to protect our natural environment.
 
Kirsten Te Rito is the third finalist with her waiata ‘Tamaiti Ngaro’, co-written with James Illingworth and Joseph Te Rito. ‘Tamaiti Ngaro’ is an atmospheric, slow-building anthem tinged with touches of electronica.
 

SOUNZ CONTEMPORARY AWARD

The SOUNZ Contemporary Award celebrates excellence in contemporary composition. The finalists for the award this year includes Kenneth Young, whose illustrious career in New Zealand music spans four decades, for his composition ‘Piano Trio’. Prodigious Wellington composer and violinist Salina Fisher is also nominated for ‘Rainphase’ and Chris Cree Brown, an Associate Professor at the School of Music at the University of Canterbury, makes the short-list for ‘Viola Concerto’.
 

APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A FEATURE FILM AWARD

A host of well-known names in Kiwi music are up for the APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award.
 
Three members of the Wellington-based indie-pop band The Phoenix Foundation (Samuel Scott, Lukasz Buda and Conrad Wedde) are nominated for their work on Taika Waititi’s box office smash, Hunt For The Wilderpeople. 
 
Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper and Tama Waipara also make the shortlist for Mahana (The Patriarch), directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Temuera Morrison.
 
Tom McLeod rounds off the finalists with The Art of Recovery, which tracks the devastation of Christchurch in the 2011 earthquake to the city’s regeneration.
 

APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A SERIES AWARD

The APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award will also be presented on the night. In the running for the prestigious award are Karl Stevens for 800 Words, Age Pryor for Jiwi’s Machines and Tami & Jay Neilson for The Brokenwood Mysteries.
 
“In 2016 music is being consumed more than ever before and in a wider and increasing number of ways. We are proud to celebrate music in all its forms - in te reo Maori, in our concert halls and on our televisions and cinema screens. Each has its own world and each is exemplified in our finalists’ excellent work,” says Anthony Healey, Head of NZ Operations for APRA AMCOS.

TOP FIVE FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 APRA SILVER SCROLL AWARD

Five top New Zealand artists and acts have made the shortlist for the 2016 APRA Silver Scroll Award, recognising excellence in songwriting.

The finalists and their songs represent an eclectic mix of genres and range from iconic names in Kiwi music, to up-and-comers making their mark in the industry.

After winning the prized award in 2014, the internationally renowned Tami Neilson is back in this year’s list of finalists with ‘The First Man’ co-written with her brother Jay Neilson. It’s a heartbreaking song that reflects on the death of her father, written at a time of deep pain and grief, and yet also written out of deep love and celebration that narrates the time between a child’s life beginning to a parent’s life ending.

Stalwarts of indie pop ‘n’ rock The Phoenix Foundation (Samuel Scott, Lukasz Buda, Conrad Wedde, William Ricketts, Thomas Callwood, Christopher O'Connor) also make this year’s cut. It brings their total number of nominations over the years to six times in the Top 20 and an impressive four times in the Top 5. The band’s entry this year, ‘Give Up Your Dreams’, is an uplifting nod to the fine line between chucking it all in and soldiering on with a great big smile on your face.

Auckland singer-songwriter Lydia Cole is also up for the award with her song ‘Dream’. It’s a bittersweet two-part tale all about falling in love when you least expect it. It is the second song to have earned Lydia a spot in the Top 5.

Thomas Oliver is a first-time nominee with his love song ‘If I Move To Mars’, which explores the Wellington singer-songwriter’s fascination with the idea of living on the red planet with your lover – lying in the dirt, drinking Cognac and listening to records.

Also newcomers to the Top 5 are Street Chant (Emily Littler, Billie Rogers, Alex Brown, Christopher Farnham) with their song ‘Pedestrian Support League’. The indie-rockers’ song is loosely about life in their hometown of Auckland and that feeling you get when you return from life on the road, to a crummy flat in Grey Lynn.

“Great songs tell great stories and each of these songs give us beautiful, heartfelt tales of dreams, love and loss. It’s a diverse and eclectic group of songwriters, each at the very top of their craft and each very much deserving of our celebration,” says Anthony Healey, Head of NZ Operations for APRA AMCOS.

The APRA Silver Scroll Awards celebrated its 50th anniversary last year marking a significant milestone and a track record in recognising New Zealand’s brightest songwriting talent. It’s considered one of the most coveted awards in New Zealand music and has previously been awarded to Ray Columbus, Hammond Gamble, Shona Laing, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga, Don McGlashan, Neil Finn, Chris Knox, Brooke Fraser, James Milne & Lukasz Buda, Alisa Xayalith & Thom Powers (The Naked And Famous) and Ella Yelich-O’Connor (Lorde) & Joel Little.

The other awards presented on the night are:

●     APRA Maioha Award, celebrating exceptional waiata featuring te reo Māori

●     SOUNZ Contemporary Award, celebrating excellence in contemporary composition

●     APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award

●     APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award

As a part of the celebrations APRA will also be inducting a songwriter/s into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.

All awards will be presented at Vector Arena in Auckland on Thursday 29th September. Radio New Zealand will broadcast and live video stream the APRA Silver Scroll Awards ceremony on RNZ National, Freeview Ch 50 and online at www.rnz.co.nz/music. The awards are proudly supported by Panhead Custom Ales.

APRA Silver Scroll Awards – top 5 finalists 2016:

* Lydia Cole – ‘Dream’ – Lydia Cole

* The Phoenix Foundation – ‘Give Up Your Dreams’ - Samuel Scott, Lukasz Buda, Conrad Wedde, William Ricketts, Thomas Callwood, Christopher O’Connor. Published by Native Tongue Music Publishing.

* Thomas Oliver – ‘If I Move To Mars’ – Thomas Oliver. Published by Mushroom Music Pty Ltd.

* Street Chant – ‘Pedestrian Support League’ - Emily Littler, Billie Rogers, Alex Brown, Christopher Farnham. Published by Arch Hill Music Publishing / Native Tongue Music Publishing.

* Tami Neilson – ‘The First Man’ – Tami Neilson, Jay Neilson.

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