Tami Neilson - Neon Cowgirl

The Neon Cowgirl, who towers above Broadway in Nashville as the patron saint of heartbreak, watched Tami Neilson grow up. Tami walked wide-eyed into the Ryman Auditorium at age 16, bathing in its glow — and ever since, she dreamed of one day taking her place on that stage. After spending half a year traveling across North America in a 40-foot camper with her young family, Tami returned to New Zealand to record a collection of songs inspired by her pilgrimage. This love letter, written on four wheels over asphalt, became Neon Cowgirl.

From the barn-burner “Borrow My Boots” — a celebration of sisterhood written and performed with Ashley McBryde and Shelly Fairchild, featuring guitar prodigy Grace Bowers — to the dreamy title track duet with Neil Finn, Tami’s soaring homage to Roy Orbison “Foolish Heart,” and the smoky “You’re Gonna Fall” recorded with JD McPherson, Neon Cowgirl leaves no emotion untouched, no stone unturned.

“I gathered the seeds for these songs in every place along the way. When they bloomed, there were crossroads of Presley and Patsy, Orbison and kd lang — the blues of Memphis, the twang of Texas, the cinematic torch of Judy Garland on a Hollywood soundstage. But above all, it became a love letter to my Neon Cowgirl. Or more precisely, a love letter. Because she’ll just keep breaking a foolish heart — if you let her.”

Neon Cowgirl is the story of a woman’s lifelong dream, slowly but surely coming true.