Singer-songwriter Tami Neilson teamed up with outlaw country music legend Willie Nelson on the new single “Beyond The Stars.” The song appears on Neilson’s forthcoming studio album, Kingmaker.
Kingmaker, Neilson’s fifth studio album, arrives on July 15 through Outside Music. The Toronto-born singer-songwriter recorded the follow-up to 2020’s Chickaboom! at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios in Tami’s current hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. Kingmaker is described in press materials as “Neilson’s most provocative and powerful collection to date.”
Willie Nelson added his trademark vocals and played his Trigger guitar on “Beyond The Stars.” Nelson’s parts were recorded by Steve Chadie at Pedernales Studio.
Tami wrote “Beyond The Stars” after suffering the loss of her dad and the song documents her feelings of wanting to be with him once again. “Having Willie be the voice of my father in this duet is just something beyond my wildest dreams,” explained Neilson. “I cried for three days after it was recorded, listening to it and thinking about how absolutely overwhelmed and proud my Dad, a musician and a huge Willie Nelson fan, would have been.
“This song was written about the loss of my Dad, but with the loss of Willie’s beloved Sister Bobbie the week before Luck Reunion, it took on even more meaning to perform it with Willie, and I really wanted to honor her as well,” added Tami.
The “Beyond The Stars” official music video features footage filmed in Austin last month both at the SXSW Music Festival and at Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion event on his ranch in Luck, Texas. Watch the resulting visual below:
