NEON COWGIRL  "The Neon Cowgirl-towering over Broadway like the patron saint of heartbreak in downtown Nashville as she smiles coyly over her shoulder in red cowboy boots-watched me grow up. Basking in her glow, I walked wide-eyed into the Ryman Auditorium as a 16 year-old, clutching my ticket. Later that night, dreaming of standing on that stage,  I drifted off to sleep in the bunk of our home on wheels at the KOA next to the Opry. When I was 18, she saw me flipping through Loretta Lynn CDs in Ernest Tubb Record Shop after performing the breakfast and lunch shows on the General Jackson showboat with my parents and brothers in our family band, The Neilsons. At 25, she watched me running all over town, meeting up with other songwriters-writing, writing, writing-before I had to fly back home to Canada again. At 30, I returned as a newlywed on my honeymoon, flying in from New Zealand where I'd moved for love, holding hands with my new husband in Hatch Show Print, introducing him to her like a family member. A decade passed without her as I built a life on the other side of the world and raised 2 babies. My heart raced as I returned to her once again, to showcase at Americanafest, playing to 12 people at 3rd and Lindsley. 5 years and many showcases later, I swear she smiled right at me as I stopped to point her out to my two children as we walked past her, through the doors of the Ryman to finally perform for the first time. NEON COWGIRL represents a lifelong dream of chasing Nashville and country music. I’ve loved her my whole life, even when she breaks my heart over and over again."   This weeks guest = Tami Neilson - through much hard work,  fierce determination and drive has begun to make all her dreams come true. She is blessed with a voice that's been described as "a fire breathing R&B belter" by Rolling Stone. Tami has now played the Ryman, sung a duet with her hero Willie Nelson. Travelled the highways and cities of the USA and Canada in an RV  with her NZ family,  so they could experience where she came from and the places on the planet she was singing about. Her latest adventure was opening for Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan as part of the Outlaw Music Festival.  Dreams DO come true. She's done all this while dealing with health issues and her brother Jay's recovery from major surgery.