Photo by Scarletta Photography
WELCOME AND THANK YOU FOR VISITING NEIL'S HOME ON THE WEB AND THE HOME OF HIS RECORD LABEL, RESTLESS WIND RECORDS ® ‘… born in the dreams of a country boy …’ AND HIS 1950’s LABEL, HI-FI RECORDS ®.
Here you will find a long and winding road of emotions and memories born in the dreams of a country boy flowing through the lyrics and music in Neil's songs.
A budding songwriter during the dawning days of Rock and Roll in the 1950s, inspired and influenced by recording artists of the day such as Ricky Nelson, Buddy Holly, Paul Anka and Johnny Cash, Neil wrote his first songs in 1959 while in high school then set out to find a place in the world for his voice and lyrics, finding it a challenge without venturing into the burgeoning U.S.A recording and performing market during the 1960s and later years.
A 1960 Western Ontario Secondary School Honor Athlete and 1964 graduate of Waterloo Lutheran University – Waterloo University College (Faculty of Arts) now known as Laurier University, Neil continued writing songs and performing in local garage bands including being a member of ‘Downtown Jam’ in Toronto under the leadership of Andrew Hall – nephew of Monty Hall, host and producer of ‘Let’s Make A Deal’ and member of Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Under the direction of his producer, Ray Lyell, recording engineer, Trevor Titian and the contribution of talented band members and studio musicians, Neil went on to record success after success in the Indie music world.
“The Cowboy Song - Radio Edit” had millions of plays when released on MySpace May 2007 becoming Neil's signature song
"The Cowboy Song - Radio Edit" & “The Restless Wind” reached #1 on the CASHBOX Magazine 2007 Country Chart
#1 songs on various indie music charts
Twice nominated in the Hamilton Music Awards
Multi-year Juno contender as Songwriter of the Year
Best Music Video Award at the Summer 2023 Rome International Short Festival
Semi Finalist - Paris International Short Festival - September2023
Semi Finalist - Chicago Filmmaker Awards - September 2023
Quarter Finalist - Vancouver International Movie Awards - September 2023
Award of Recognition in three categories: “Music Video, Contemporary Issues/Awareness Raising, Dramatic Impact”, at the
IndieFest Film Awards, April 2024, La Jolla, California
Finalist at the Cine Vista Oasis Film Awards May 2025 in Jakarta, Indonesia: “the video stood out for its creativity, technical
excellence and compelling storytelling”
Neil is book-ending his multi-faceted entrepreneurial and music careers as both an award-winning singer/songwriter and as an author.
Neil continues to write, record and release new songs and covers.
Book 1 subtitled ‘The Circle of Life’ of my 3-book trilogy titled 'The Summer Garden and the Song' - a coming of age story.
Book 2 subtitled “Harvest” is the continuation of the story of Mick Neilson, the Summer Garden, his song, and a summer and harvest that he could never have imagined at the end of Book 1.
Book 3 subtitled “On the Threshold of a Dream” is scheduled to be published and released in 2025.
The story begins in Book 1 and continues through Book 2 into Book 3.
Neil was honoured to be featured on the cover of the January 2022 issue of NEIGHBOURS OF PARIS ON THE GRAND magazine along with more photos in the 4-page article on the inside pages.
After the issue was released, Neil was soon fondly tagged by a couple of local gals as 'Mr. January' - even with his shirt on ... lol