TAMI'S KEEPING THE FAITH 'I'M DOING THIS FOR MY BROTHER'

The Kiwi country singer's honouring her sibling and bandmate, who's recovering from a brain injury

- Words: Kylie Bailey. Pictures: Alexa King Stone.

Ever since she was 12, country music superstar Tami Neilson has always performed with her brother Jay. That is until July 2024, when he was placed in an induced coma just as the Auckland mum of two was preparing to record her new album Neon Cowgirl.

The Toronto-based guitarist, 47, had gone into hospital for a routine procedure to remove a lesion from his forehead, but the operation ended in a medical emergency that saw his brain swell, causing multiple seizures and strokes, and requiring the removal of half his skull.

With Jay unresponsive in a coma, Tami, 48, and Jay's wife Lindsay had to make a critical decision about whether to proceed with recording the album, which he'd helped to write.

"I wanted to just stop everything and jump on a plane," admits Tami.

But with doctors advising that nothing could stimulate him, Lindsay convinced her to stay put and get into the studio, telling her, "I know it's hard because you want to be here, but when he wakes up and finds out you haven't recorded that album of songs he's been so excited about, that will be more devastating."