“Kim is steeped in the deep tradition of country and bluegrass, you can hear the years of singing honky tonk music every time she opens her mouth. I love this woman!” Tami Neilson

Kim Bonnington has firmly established herself in the Wellington folk and country music scene as the girl with the golden country voice.  

In her early years, Saturday nights began with a quick nap on a beanbag while her parents played gigs in the small country halls around Nelson.  When woken to join the post gig jam sessions, it was here that Kim learnt her craft and established the substantial repertoire that she draws upon today. Reared on a solid diet of Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard and Gram Parsons, Kim’s roots are firmly planted in traditional country music, the country rock of the 1970s and the neo-traditional 1980s.

Kim is celebrated as a solo artist but also for her harmonies where she has worked with artists including Bill Hickman, Anxiety Club, Tami Neilson, Rob Joass, Mel Parsons, The Frank Burkitt Band and with Cameron ‘Dusty’ Burnell as Kim and Dusty.  

“Kim’s voice seems to have the history of classic folk and country imbedded within it something most singers could only dream of. Soulful songs stacked with integrity; meaningful and uplifting”.  Barnaby Weir