Congratulations Tattletale Saints!

Kiwi alt country duo Tattletale Saints were awarded Best Folk Artist Tui last night at the Auckland Folk Festival.

This is the second win for Cy Winstanley and  Vanessa McGowan, who are currently based in Nashville.

Here is the press release we received:

Tennessee-based New Zealand duo Tattletale Saints won the 2021 Tūī for Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Folk Artist at the Auckland Folk Festival this evening.

The group won for their third studio album, Dancing Under The Dogwoods. This is the second time the duo has won Best Folk Artist, winning in 2014 for their album How Red Is The Blood.

Made up of Cy Winstanley and Vanessa McGowan, Tattletale Saints crafted an album which showcases the band’s perfectly intertwined harmony vocals and Winstanley’s clever yet emotional song writing.

Recorded Music NZ Kaiwhakahaere o Ngā Tohu Puoro o Aotearoa Sarah Owen says the duo are well deserving of the 2021 Tūī, with their dynamic folk sound earning them recognition for the second time.

“Ngā mihi nui to Cy and Vanessa for crafting another incredibly well-rounded folk album. The talented pair are an exciting group to watch and I can’t wait to see what they create next.”

The other finalists for the 2021 Best Folk Artist Tūī were politically engaged folk-blues artist Darren Watson and newcomers You, Me, Everybody for their debut self-titled EP.

The 2021 Tūī was presented at the Auckland Folk Festival, an annual festival of music, song and dance held at Kumeu Showground, northwest of Auckland.

NOTE:

The Tūī for Best Folk Artist 2021 is for recordings released in the 12 months to 30 September 2020. The Folk category was first introduced to the Awards in 1984.

Recent previous winners of the Tūī for Best Folk Album

• 2013 – Great North – Halves
• 2014 – Tattletale Saints – How Red Is the Blood
• 2015 – Great North – Up In Smoke
• 2016 – Holly Arrowsmith – For The Weary Traveller
• 2017 – Guy Wishart – West By North
• 2018 – Albi & The Wolves – One Eye Open
• 2019 – The Frank Burkitt Band – Raconteur
• 2020 – Mel Parsons – Glass Heart

 

Finalists’ websites

Darren Watson: http://www.darrenwatson.com

Tattletale Saints: http://www.tattletalesaints.com

You, Me, Everybody: http://www.yme.nz

Click here to watch The Tattletale Saints perform at The 13th Floor.