Congratulations to Kerryn Fields, 2019 winner for her song 'Mamma'

and to runner-up Tami Neilson for her song 'Queenie'.

Kerryn Fields Winner 2019

 

A double-finalist in this year's MLT Songwriting Award Kerryn won with her heartfelt song 'Mamma'.

 

Hailing from farming land in the heart of New Zealand, Kerryn Fields is a fearless artist who is never happier than when she has a guitar in one hand and a journal in the other.  Her poignant and powerful songs, baritone brilliance and unassuming string-plucking virtuosity leave audiences transfixed, crying, hysterically laughing and dipping their fingers into all the layers of the universe - after which they lick them in public, because this life is kind of delicious. 

With a new single due for release in August 2019, Fields a storyteller, a social genius and a gem of a songwriter whose enormous life story and hopeless romanticism gets her into trouble on and off the stage. 

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Kerryn, congratulations from the MLT Songwriting Award and New Zealand Songwriter's Trust!  To find out more about Kerryn visit www.kerrynfields.com

Tami Neilson Runner-up 2019

 

Also a double-finalist in this year's MLT Songwriting Award Tami was awarded runner-up with her upbeat song 'Queenie'.

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Canadian-born songstress Tami Neilson grew up performing with her parents and her two brothers around North America as the Neilson Family Band. She then settled in New Zealand and lit out on her own as a country crooner adorned in vintage sound and clothing. She rapidly picked up New Zealand Music Awards over several years for Best Female Artist, Best Country Album and Best Country Song, thanks to her pithy, bang-on verses and a voice that sounds like she swallowed Patsy Cline in one bite without chewing. That would have been a comfortable musical space in which to nestle amongst her laurels, but with the blink of a false eyelash and a toss of her beehive, Neilson

strutted on, augmenting her sweetheart-of-country sound with gospel, R&B, soul and rockabilly. This hip-swinging combo became a raucous shout-out against double standards, ROLLING STONE calling her ‘a fire-breathing belter on her own terms.’
Her trademark cheeky joy rides aloft on vigorous grooves laced with sass, and what DOWNBEAT magazine calls ‘A great, big canyon of a voice.’ This force-of-nature is a
full-blown party. 

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Tami, congratulations from the MLT Songwriting Award and New Zealand Songwriter's Trust!  To find out more about Tami visit www.tamineilson.com

The 10 finalists for the 2019 MLT Songwriting Award were: (in no particular order)

• Kaylee Bell and Tami Neilson for the song ‘Used to Getting Over You’

• Tami Neilson for the song ‘Queenie’

• Kendall Elise for the song ‘Slippery Creek’

• Kerryn Fields for two songs ‘Mamma’ and ‘Until You’

• Jenny Mitchell for two songs ‘Lucy’ and ‘Tug of War’

• Olivia Sutherland for the song ‘Don’t’

• Miller Yule for the song ‘Tangled Up’

• Ron Mitchell for the song ‘I’ll Be Country’