Vanessa
mcgowan
EPK
Biography
Vanessa McGowan is a New Zealand-born bass player, vocalist, business coach, and writer in Nashville, Tennessee.
Born and raised in Auckland, Vanessa’s career as a bass player has taken her worldwide, including stints living in Las Vegas, London, and Nashville.
Based in Nashville since 2014, she has played for Grammy-winners Sugarland and Jennifer Nettles, currently tours and is musical director for multi-Grammy-nominated Americana artist, Brandy Clark, and has her own multi-award-winning Americana Duo, Tattletale Saints.
Vanessa also teaches musicians about building a healthy life in music, drawing on the 20 years of experience she has as an independent musician to empower female musicians with creative skills for life.
She performs and records with a wide variety of other Nashville based artists and bands and is proud to endorse Fender Guitars, Aguilar Amps, Fishman DI’s, and D’addario strings.
With Tattletale Saints
Vanessa formed Tattletale Saints with acclaimed New Zealand songwriter Cy Winstanley in 2012 and the now Nashville-based band won the NZ Music Award for Folk in 2014 for their debut album How Red Is the Blood, produced by Grammy award winner Tim O’Brien, and again in 2021 for their third studio album, Dancing Under The Dogwoods.
Vanessa is proud to endorse Fender Guitars, Aguilar Amps, Fishman DI’s, and D’addario strings.
With Brandy Clark
Vanessa has been playing with multi-Grammy-nominated Americana Artist Brandy Clark since 2017 and is her bass player, backing vocalist, and musical director.
Photos
Click the thumbnail for downloadable high-res images. Please use the photographer credit listed below the image.
By Natia Cinco
By Natia Cinco
By Natia Cinco
By Alex de Freitas
Courtesy of Aguilar
By Steve Voss
Writing
A life long teacher, Vanessa helps musicians build a healthy life in music, drawing on the 20 years of experience she has as an independent musician to empower female musicians with creative skills for life.
Read her writing on New Zealand Musician Magazine’s Road Rules and her own blog, Music Mindset on Substack.
Press Inquiries
For all press inquiries, email vanessa@vanessamcgowan.com or message me using the form.