Tennessee-based New Zealand duo Tattletale Saints won the 2021 Tūī for Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Folk Artist at the Auckland Folk Festival on Sunday evening.

The group won for their third studio album, Dancing Under The Dogwoods. This is the second time the duo has won Best Folk Artist, winning in 2014 for their album How Red Is The Blood.

Made up of Cy Winstanley and Vanessa McGowan, Tattletale Saints crafted an album which showcases the band’s perfectly intertwined harmony vocals and Winstanley’s clever yet emotional song writing.

Recorded Music NZ Kaiwhakahaere o Ngā Tohu Puoro o Aotearoa Sarah Owen says the duo are well deserving of the 2021 Tūī, with their dynamic folk sound earning them recognition for the second time.

“Ngā mihi nui to Cy and Vanessa for crafting another incredibly well-rounded folk album. The talented pair are an exciting group to watch and I can’t wait to see what they create next.”

The other finalists for the 2021 Best Folk Artist Tūī were politically engaged folk-blues artist Darren Watson and newcomers You, Me, Everybody for their debut self-titled EP.

The 2021 Tūī was presented at the Auckland Folk Festival, an annual festival of music, song and dance held at Kumeu Showground, northwest of Auckland.