Mel Parsons

Mel Parsons

Mel Parsons is a New Zealand singer-songwriter working in indie folk and alternative country. She is born in Westport, and she wins Best Folk Artist at the 2020 New Zealand Music Awards.

Background and training

Parsons starts on piano and takes up guitar at about 14. She becomes more serious about music in seventh form, around the age of 17, when she applies to the Nelson School of Music. After a year there, she travels overseas for a period before returning to New Zealand to study at the University of Auckland. There she studies popular music and performance, along with history, anthropology and Spanish.

Recording career

In 2007, Parsons begins work on her first album. She writes the material herself and records it with co-producer Shaun Elley and her backing band, The Rhythm Kings. Over My Shoulder is released in 2009.

Her second studio album, Red Grey Blue, follows in 2011. It features harmonies from Anika Moa and Greg Johnson, Bruce Lynch on double bass, and Don McGlashan on baritone horn, among others. The album is recorded at Studio One, Boatshed Studios and The Spare Room in Auckland.

Her third album, Drylands, is recorded at Surgery Studios. Lee Prebble engineers the album, and, together with mixing engineer Oliver Harmer, later wins the 2015 New Zealand Music Awards for best engineer for their work on it.

Glass Heart appears in 2018 and is the first album Parsons records outside New Zealand. It is recorded in Santa Monica, California, in the United States, with producer Mitchell Froom.

Her fifth studio album, Slow Burn, is released in 2022.