About Tattletale Saints

Bill Monroe famously declared you couldn’t tell if a band was any good unless you heard them play something you already knew.

For their 2023 release, In the Summertime, Americana duo Tattletale Saints take the father of bluegrass to heart with a collection of cover songs that celebrate the diverse sound audiences have been falling in love with since the band’s first New Zealand tour in 2010.

The New Zealand-born, now Nashville-based pair have long made cover songs an integral part of their live shows, delighting audiences worldwide with their quirky and often unexpected bluegrass, jazz, traditional country, and pop covers.

For Tattletale Saints’ first three studio albums, the pair mainly leaned on Winstanley’s award-winning songwriter talents, a decision that resulted in Aotearoa Music Awards for Folk Album in both 2014 and 2021, plus Silver Scroll nomination in 2013.

The duo - comprised of Cy Winstanley (vocals/guitar) and Vanessa McGowan (vocals/bass) - flirted with covers on previous albums, recording a sweet duet of Etta James's At Last on their 2013 release How Red Is The Blood and a slow, surprisingly mournful version of ABBA’s Dancing Queen on Dancing Under The Dogwoods, released in 2020.

On In the Summertime, Winstanley and McGowan dive deep into old set lists, with surprising versions of everything from old country traditionals and bluegrass to reggae and 70’s pop. The compilation takes fans on a rollicking ride through the diverse influences synonymous with a Tattletale Saints performance.  

The Auckland-born duo moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2014 and have built flourishing careers as session players in Music City. Individually, they tour and record with various Americana and country acts, and together for multi-Grammy nominated artist Brandy Clark.

The 2023 New Zealand tour is also a celebration of the vinyl release of Dancing Under The Dogwoods, winner of the 2021 Aotearoa Music Award.