[Cover photo credit to Alexa King Stone]
Canadian native Tami Neilson has released the second single from her upcoming album, Neon Cowgirl. “Borrow My Boots” is a track “celebrating female empowerment and giving a sister a leg up.” It was written by Neilson, Ashley McBryde, and Shelly Fairchild who are both featured on the track alongside guitarist Grace Bowers.
To accompany the release, Neilson has shared a behind-the-scenes video of her Grand Ole Opry debut, including video clips from her performance, as the official video for “Borrow My Boots.” The Grand Ole Opry has also released a video performance of the four of them playing it live at Neilson’s Opry debut.
Tami shares how the single came together:
“After getting to perform on an absolute dream show with an all-star lineup singing the music of Patsy Cline at the Ryman, I woke up the next morning to a DM from one of my favourite country stars, Ashley McBryde. She’d been on the line up and after seeing me perform, she had immediately dug into my catalogue of music and wrote to me to lift me up and encourage me, saying she was a fan. A few weeks later, she tagged me in a post of her getting ready for the red carpet of the CMAs, playing “Careless Woman” as her hype song! A couple months after that, she asked for permission to create a t-shirt with my photo on it and a line from that song, “I Wanna Be Her When I Grow Up” so she could wear it around town as she hosted CMA Fest and champion my music.
That’s how you say, “Hey Sister, you can borrow my boots.”
So, when I had a song idea about women supporting and empowering each other, she was the first person who came to mind. I asked if she would do a long-distance writing session and she invited powerhouse songwriter and artist Shelly Fairchild to join us and “Borrow My Boots” was born, and recorded on the album the next week. I met Grace Bowers back when she was 15 and had just moved to Nashville and I asked her to play her first paid gigs with me at Americanafest – we had to hide her backstage because she wasn’t old enough to be in the venues. She’s rocketing to stardom now and after playing with everyone from Dolly and Slash, to rocking the Grammys, I didn’t know if she’d have time for a little guitar solo on my album. Not only did she contribute a blistering solo, she changed her flights in the middle of a tour to join me, Ashley and Shelly to perform this song at my debut on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
That’s how you say, “Hey Sister, you can borrow my boots.”
The album Neon Cowgirl will be released on July 11, 2025 on Outside Music, with Tami Neilson and her band joining Willie Nelson, and then Willie and Bob Dylan, on this year’s Outlaw Festival tour. She will also be playing Willie’s Fourth of July Picnic, and will return to the Grand Ole Opry stage in June. Also in June, Neilson will hit Europe for shows in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
*Outlaw Music Festival Tour 2025
THU 19 JUN – Paris, France @ New Morning
FRI 20 JUN – Sint-Niklaas, Belgium @ De Casino
FRI 20 JUN – SAT 21 JUN – Grollo, Netherlands @ Holland International Blues Festival 2025 WED 25 JUN – Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater*
THU 26 JUNE – Nashville, TN @ Grand Ole Opry
FRI 27 JUN – Memphis, TN @ Radians Amphitheater @ Memphis Botanic Garden *
SAT 28 JUN – Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater *
SUN 29 JUN – Ridgedale, MO @ Thunder Ridge Nature Arena *
TUE 1 JUL – Oklahoma City, OK @ Lucky Star Amphitheater *
FRI 4 JUL – Austin, TX @ Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic
SAT 5 JUL – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion *
SUN 6 JUL – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion *
