Tami Neilson
- Composer
- Actress
- Music Department
Tami Neilson was born into a musical family in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Ron Neilson, as a teenager, had been a member of The Volcanoes, a Canadian rock 'n' roll band that opened for the likes of The Supremes, Bobby Darin, Johnny Rivers and others touring the region. Tami's mother, Betty, met Ron in a later band and became his wife and touring partner. When Tami was 12, she started performing with her parents and brothers, Jay and Todd, as The Neilsons, originally a gospel group but later moving into country music. The family stopped touring when Tami was in her early 20s and in 2001 she met and eventually married Grant Tetzlaff, a New Zealand Police inspector. In 2007 she moved to Auckland, New Zealand and started working on a solo career.
At the New Zealand Country Music Awards, Tami won for Best Country Album in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015, for Best Country Music Song ("Whiskey & Kisses with Delaney Davidson) and for Best Female Artist in 2010, 2011 and 2014.
In 2022, Tami was invited to perform at Willie Nelson's Luck ranch for his Annual Luck Reunion and sang "Beyond the Stars" in duet with Willie as a tribute to her father who died in 2015 and to Willie's recently deceased sister, Bobbie.
At the New Zealand Country Music Awards, Tami won for Best Country Album in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015, for Best Country Music Song ("Whiskey & Kisses with Delaney Davidson) and for Best Female Artist in 2010, 2011 and 2014.
In 2022, Tami was invited to perform at Willie Nelson's Luck ranch for his Annual Luck Reunion and sang "Beyond the Stars" in duet with Willie as a tribute to her father who died in 2015 and to Willie's recently deceased sister, Bobbie.
