“River” Single Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Tami Neilson first discovered Joni Mitchell’s Blue as a teenager. "I was on tour with my family band all around Canada and the U.S. and for my birthday one year, my dad gave me the Blue album on CD, I was immediately obsessed.”
That album, Neilson says, "gave me that kind of permission and confidence to become the writer and the artist and the producer that I am today."
For Canadian-born Neilson, the song “River” dives into the pain of homesickness, a sentiment that resonated deeply during her first Christmas living abroad in New Zealand. "Being in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are flipped so it's really it's hot and it's summery, and it's so strange to be decorating your Christmas tree and in shorts and a tank top," she said.
"I remember putting on the Blue album and the song ‘River’ came on and I just immediately started sobbing because I know this song is about regret over a broken relationship.... But for me, it just became this song about homesickness and longing, and the longing was to be home."
LISTEN AND SHARE “RIVER” (JONI MITCHELL COVER) HERE
BUY / STREAM “RIVER” (JONI MITCHELL COVER) HERE
The song has taken on more relevance for Tami as the pandemic has kept her from visiting her family in Canada over the past 18 months. Being in Auckland, Tami was able to perform a few shows, including a brief album release tour which culminated in a sold out show at the Civic Theatre which was later released as a concert film.
WATCH AND SHARE TAMI NIELSON LIVE AT THE CIVIC
As well, Tami launched “The Tami Show”, a 12 episode YouTube series filmed entirely from her New Zealand home. Tami’s latest album, CHICKABOOM!, was released in February 2020, and although her world tour was cancelled, the album became Tam’s biggest release to date, with nearly 2M streams, placements in Snowpiercer and Family Law, and mass critical acclaim including rave reviews from Rolling Stone, No Depression, Billboard and more.
CHICKABOOM! also earned Tami her first JUNO Award nomination for Best Contemporary Roots Recording while winning New Zealand’s Best Country Song of the Year for lead single “Hey, Bus Driver” and for Best Country Artist.
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