Mel Parsons & the Rhythm Kings

Two-time Tui Award finalist Mel Parsons returns to Nelson with her full band of Rhythm Kings this spring for an intimate performance in the Free House's Mongolian Yurt.

Joined by Aaron Stewart on double bass, drummer & percussionist Nick George, and guitarist & backing vocalist Andrew Moore, Parsons will be performing a mix songs from both of her albums, along with a couple of new numbers ready for road-testing.

Parsons is in her element on stage, and presents an intimate live show not to be missed!

Doors open from 7pm, show starts 7:30pm

Very limited tickets, get yours online to avoid missing out!

About Mel Parsons:

Following the success of her debut record ‘Over My Shoulder’, two-time Tui Award finalist Mel Parsons has released new album Red Grey Blue to wide critical acclaim: the Sunday Star Times giving it 4.5/5 stars and calling it a “cross-hybrid pop gem”; and the Waikato Times venturing “Red Grey Blue is not only Parsons’ best recording, it is one of New Zealand’s finest releases”.

Inspired by recent bands such as UK’s Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling, Parsons also draws on a healthy dose of the past for inspiration, with writers like Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Neil Young making a lasting impression on her work.
Parsons is one of NZ’s rising songwriting stars, with a voice that “could work any night in Nashville, yet somehow sounds intrinsically New Zealand” (Black Magazine). Her bewitching vocals have been stopping audiences in their tracks for the past few years, and Parsons also possesses an uncanny knack for hooks “armed with instant sing-along choruses, a unique sensibility to melody and harmony and stonking drum grooves” (Martyn Pepperell, Word on the Street)

Parsons is a two-time finalist in the NZ Music Awards for Folk Album of the Year (2009, 2012) and has toured NZ numerous times both as a solo artist and with her backing band “The Rhythm Kings”. Along with her own shows, Parsons has supported and played alongside some of NZ’s best including Anika Moa; Don McGlashan; The Warratahs; and Greg Johnson.