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Vocal
  • Published: 13 April 2027
  • ISBN: 9781776951147
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

Vocal

Tales of a Showbiz Kid

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
13 Apr 2027
EBook
13 Apr 2027
Audiobook
13 Apr 2027
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Brave, beautiful and entertaining as hell, Tami Neilson’s brilliant breakout memoir sparkles like a truckload of rhinestones but cuts like a diamond.

Tami Neilson has never done anything quietly.

She grew up a showbiz kid, barrelling down North American highways with her family band, The Neilsons, with the music and restless spirit of her ancestors pounding in her blood.

Breakfast with Roy Orbison. Opening for Johnny Cash. Accidentally joining a cult. God and grifters. Love, loss and leaving. Preachers, prophets and poverty. There was no rulebook for Tami's kind of childhood, but it earned her a front-row education in the explosive highs and heartbreaks of the music industry.

But growing up was one thing; finding her voice was another.

Love took Tami half a world away to New Zealand, where she had to start all over again, building a family of her own and finally finding her place to stand.

Today, Tami’s an award-winning country and soul star with a voice that can break your heart one minute and bring down the house the next.

Vocal takes us behind the blues, twang and swagger to share the stories that shaped her and the songs that sustained her.

This is Tami Neilson turned all the way up.
  • Published: 13 April 2027
  • ISBN: 9781776951147
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

About the author

Tami Neilson

Canadian-born, New Zealand-based and Willie Nelson approved! Tami Neilson’s worldwide appeal is due in no small part to her reputation as, in the words of Rolling Stone, ’a fire-breathing belter.’ Her ground-shaking voice has wowed audiences across the globe and racked up numerous awards along the way. In New Zealand, Tami is one of her adopted home country’s most beloved artists, with chart-topping albums and regular recognition across multiple categories at the New Zealand Music Awards. Her sold-out Kingmaker tour culminated in a live album backed by the 80-piece Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Tami has built an audience of all ages in Europe, Australia and her native North America thanks to appearances on PBS’s star-studded Great Performances concert series, filmed live at the Ryman in Nashville, and at the legendary Grand Ole Opry. Tami is also an award-winning composer who has written and performed music for feature films like Spongebob Squarepants Saving Bikini Bottom and Holy Days starring Miriam Margolyes, as well as making cameo appearances in the hit television series The Brokenwood Mysteries. Counting American icon Willie Nelson as a fan and friend, Tami duetted with him for their award-winning song Beyond the Stars. In 2025, she also joined Willie and Bob Dylan on the Outlaw Tour across the USA. Tami’s latest critically acclaimed album, Neon Cowgirl, features collaborations with Neil Finn and JD McPherson, while her single, Borrow My Boots, featuring Ashley McBryde, hit the Top 10 on the US Americana Charts. “An imperious talent” - THE GUARDIAN “Rousing and vibrant like thunder and lightning” - CBC MUSIC “One of the greatest singers on this entire planet, irrespective of genre or geographic region” - SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC
portrait photo of Tami Neilson