Canadian Troubadours, Scott Cook & Pamela Mae Announce Extensive Tour of Aotearoa Throughout January & February

Born in West Virginia and raised on the Canadian prairies, Scott Cook quit a job teaching kindergarten in Taiwan in 2007 to embark on the life of a full-time troubadour.

He’s toured nearly nonstop across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere ever since, living out of backpacks and campervans, averaging over a hundred shows and a dozen summer festivals a year, and distilling his experiences into empathetic, keenly observant verse.

Since 2022 he’s been joined full-time by his sweetheart Pamela Mae on upright bass and vocals, crisscrossing 45 US States and 8 Canadian provinces in their campervan Roadetta, and covering a fair bit of Australia in their HiAce Hector. In 2026 they’re bringing the duo project to New Zealand for the first time with an extensive tour of 16 dates spread across both the North and South Islands.

This tour is in support of Scott’s eighth album Troubadourly Yours, which comes packaged in a 240-page hardcover book of liner notes that is equal parts memoir and manifesto. The full album is scheduled for release 27 March 2026 but the first double single (“Steady For You”/”Frankie’s Braids”) will be released 30 January as they begin their tour, and they will have advance copies of the physical album for sale along the way.

Scott’s seventh album Tangle of Souls spent two weeks at #1 back home on Alberta’s province-wide community radio network CKUA, and earned Scott his third Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year. Its second single “Say Can You See” was the second most-played song of 2020 on Folk Alliance International’s folk radio charts, and took top honours for the folk category in both the 2020 UK Songwriting Competition and the 2020 Great American Song Contest.

Fans of Cook’s well-travelled poetry and direct, open-hearted delivery have been captivated by the addition of Pamela Mae’s homespun harmonies and the pair’s spacious arrangements on upright bass, guitar, banjo and mbira. In divided and discouraging times like these, they offer messages of hope and community in a language that makes room for everyone.

Dates are listed below to catch these troubadours on their first duo tour around Aotearoa, bringing sturdy, straight-talking songs that see the good in you. More info & Tickets can be found here www.scottcook.net.

Scott Cook & Pamela Mae 2026 Aotearoa Tour Dates:

Thu 22 Jan • Wellington • UnderCurrent with Cotton Daisy Backstep

Fri 23 Jan • New Plymouth • Taranaki Festival of Lights

Thu 29 Jan • Auckland • Ministry of Folk with Hoop

Fri 30 Jan • Katikati • Katikati Folk Club

Wed 4 Feb • Hawke’s Bay • Small Halls Sessions

Thu 5 Feb • Hawke’s Bay • Small Halls Sessions

Fri 6 Feb • Hawke’s Bay • Small Halls Sessions

Sat 7 Feb • Palmerston North • The Globe Theatre

Sun 8 Feb • Wellington • Petone Abandoned Taproom

Wed 11 Feb • Onekaka • Mussel Inn

Fri 13 Feb • Nelson • Ruby Bay Store Theatre

Sat 14 Feb • Barrytown • Barrytown Hall

Sun 15 Feb • Hokitika • Old Lodge Theatre

Thu 19 Feb • Invercargill • Southland Musicians Club

Sat 21 Feb • Christchurch • A Rolling Stone with Adam McGrath

Sun 22 Feb • Dunedin • Dunedin Folk Club

Find Scott online: Website • Facebook • Instagram • Patreon • YouTube

“He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into your own… He has a good eye for imagery, a gentle human touch, a wry sense of humour, a whole lot of integrity, a warm, rugged voice and a bunch of memorable lines… Truly one of Woody Guthrie’s children.” –RnR Magazine

“My one big regret about booking Scott Cook and Pamela Mae for Vancouver Island MusicFest was not putting them on our evening Main Stage where they belonged. They are world class Canadian songwriters and performers with important messages for today’s turbulent times. Honestly, don’t just book them, but put them front and centre in your festival lineup! Your audience will thank you for that.” —Doug Cox, Artistic Director, Vancouver Island MusicFest, National Arts Centre

“These are whip-smart, bone-achingly lovely, socially committed songs presented with a bold, elegant directness evoking the very best of the folk music tradition. Last night’s performance in Notional Space was a thing of rare beauty.” —Mark Jacobs, presenter, Notional Space

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