Long live the queen

Kiwi country queen Tami Neilson is back in NZ, fresh from slaying her audiences at Nashville’s AmericanaFest. The woman with lungs as powerful as a 747 first performed in the home of country music as a child in her family’s touring band (she was born in Canada but New Zealand lays claim to her talents these days) but this year’s return simply couldn’t have gone better. Muso fans such as John Campbell and Holly Smith were quick to welcome her home, adding their social media likes to huuuuge reviews such as this from influential roots music magazine No Depression: ‘‘Neilson took no prisoners among the music industry patriarchy but also made the most invigorating music of the fest . . . everyone around me agreed that this was the showcase of the week.’’