As a child listening to Willie Nelson cassettes in her family motorhome, Tami Neilson never dreamed she would get to meet the iconic country singer.
But in 2023, three years after singing a virtual duet with her hero, the New Zealand musician flew to Texas to make a tribute album at his private studio.
Neilson will perform songs from Nielson Sings Nelson at shows around Aotearoa in October and November.
Neilson says Nelson has been the "true north" on her musical journey since she was a child.
In early 2023 - a month before his 90th birthday - she "whipped up a plan" of creating a special present for him: a covers album recorded at his private studio by his own in-house engineer.
For Neilson, who two months earlier faced death after a collapsed lung turned septic, the project was a life-affirming "palette cleanser".
"All these crazy things had happened to me and it was really nerve-wracking and scary. I wanted to create something that was like no pressure and just joy. What's more joyful than immersing yourself in Willie Nelson songs?
Country music singer Willie Nelson Photo: Brandon Bell / Getty Images
Still in recovery, with her lung capacity diminished, Neilson had to find a new, softer way of singing.
"I could not sing the same range that I could before. It was almost a forced restraint, which is very unusual for me.
"I'm known for being loud and brassy and this is a very intimate, laid-back and relaxed recording."
Whittling down a small selection of songs from Nelson's 72-album catalogue was no easy task, either.
Neilson went with a mix of "really deep cuts" alongside some of his most beloved songs, done in a fresh way.
Playing Nelson's classics on the guitar for the first time, she was surprised to discover that musically, they were not as simple as they might sound.
"His songs are really complex and deeply informed by jazz music or Mexican music, equally to blues music, equally to country music."
Kiwi singer Tami Neilson pays homage to her country music hero Willie Nelson on the intimate new album Neilson Sings Nelson. Photo: Joseph Wyman
To open the album, Neilson chose Nelson's 1966 hit 'I Never Cared for You' - a song she she discovered was his wife Annie D'Angelo's favourite.
"We were standing in front of the audience watching Willie for the first time, and Annie was standing next to me. He started playing 'I Never Cared for You' and I turned her and I'm like 'Oh, my God, it's my favourite song'. She's like 'Oh, he plays it every show because it's my favourite'."
It was D'Angelo who gave Neilson the go-ahead to record at Nelson's music studio after her 2020 virtual performance of 'Beyond the Stars' for Texas's Luck Reunion Festival.
For the recording session in Texas, Neilson flew in her brother Jay to play guitar and her other brother Todd to film the session. When they needed some percussion, Todd ended up jumping on the drums.
Although this was the first time the three siblings had performed together in over 25 years, Neilson says the experience felt like "jumping back on a bicycle".
"It was like your body just knew what to do. The communication was there. It was just like immediate lock-in. It was really so special on so many levels."
For Nelson, family is a big part of making music, Neilson says.
She is proud that she and her brothers captured that inclusive, sing-along vibe on Neilson Sings Nelson,
"It's kind of about a really special time spent with my family singing music that we love. The way that you would feel if you were sitting in our lounge and we all pulled guitars out and sang - that's kind of the feeling I wanted."
After Neilson and her brothers left Nelson's ranch, his son Micah sent her a message, reporting that it was "a really emotional experience" listening to Neilson Sings Nelson with his dad.
Micah said it wasn't often that he and his dad were surprised by covers of his songs, Neilson says, but they were moved by her version of his 1982 hit 'Always on My Mind'.
"[He said] 'That's a song I've heard every day for most of my life and for that to hit me in a fresh way and make me emotional was [really powerful].'
"I was like 'This is all I need', you know."
