Real life
SINGING F
SISTER H
MY HE
Voice of a
“I escaped into
music,” says
Carson of his
emotional
journey.A
s a child,
Carson Taare
spent a lot of
time in his
grandmother’s
lounge listening to music,
tapping his foot along
to powerful ballads by
legendary singers like
Glenn Campbell, Willie
Nelson, Kenny Rogers
and Elvis Presley.
While the singer-
songwriter’s parents were
in hospital with his beloved
big sister Elle, who was fighting
leukaemia, Carson found
comfort in the country-style
tunes during one of the darkest
episodes of his young life.
The Palmerston North
performer, 17, is now a rising
young star, getting ready for
his biggest local performance
to date with the Glenn Miller
Orchestra in September. He’s
being billed as special guest
for their Greatest Hits show
with the New York-based
band, whose members haveplayed with the industry’s best,
including Barbra Streisand, Ray
Charles and Frank Sinatra.
“I fell in love with
performing when I was 10
and sang in front of a crowd
of 300,” enthuses Carson,
whose voice has been
compared to his childhood
idol Elvis. “I’m really excited
to play with the Glenn Miller
Orchestra – it’s a huge honour!”
So far this year, the high-
school student has travelled
overseas to perform live and
even released his debut album
Breaking News! But the road
to his budding success hasn’t
been easy.
Carson’s mother Jodie
Whitehead-Wilson, 51, says
that days after her talented
son turned one, they moved
into Ronald McDonald House
in Wellington while his elder
sister underwent cancer
treatment. When he was just
two, Carson was the donor
for a bone marrow transplant
that saw Elle’s cancer go intoThis soulful musician
has a bright future
We have five copies of
Carson’s debut album
Breaking News! up for
grabs. To enter, email
your name and address to
[email protected]
with the subject line
“Carson” by September 6.
One email per person.Win!