Mel Parsons is just a little bit excited.
Not only is she reuniting with mates Amelia Dunbar and Emma Newborn for a tour of performances in South Island woolsheds, but the trio is also getting just a little bit fancy.
Having previously applied their make-up in the grand surroundings of either woolsheds or covered yards, this time they have a "fancy'' horse truck complete with sleeping quarters.
Admitting that they were really "stepping it up'', there was even somewhere they could call a dressing room, Parsons (34) laughed.
It was 2012 that the full-time singer-songwriter first toured in a double-billing with Dunbar and Newborn, who were performing their show The Bitches Box.
Now the pair are back with their new show, Sons of a Bitch, in which they attempt to bridge the urban-rural divide by playing dogs.
Canterbury-based Parsons, a Silver Scrolls finalist, has turned her passion into a career, becoming a full-time touring artist.
She grew up on a sheep and beef farm at Cape Foulwind, near Westport, and after leaving school, studied music at the Nelson School of Music, later moving to Auckland to study at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand.
She finished her degree at Auckland University.
The Bitches Box arose from a "fairly harebrained idea'' dreamed up by Dunbar to go touring around woolsheds with a show.
Whether the concept would work was an unknown and she remembered the trio looking at each other "with a semi-terrified look'' before the first show, hoping it would work.
Fortunately, people came, enjoyed it and spread the word.
Parsons and Dunbar were childhood friends who grew up skiing together at Mt Olympus in Canterbury's Craigieburn Range.
Both Dunbar and Newborn, a self-described city slicker, had acting backgrounds but not a touring background.
With Parsons' touring experience, it was a good fit.
They were "blown away'' after their first tour, with lots of shows sold-out and also the feedback they received.
Part of that, she believed, was because the show was "quite a different thing'' and it also visited some areas where "nothing ever goes there''.
"I think there was a real buzz, particularly in rural communities, that somebody has bothered to go there,'' she said.
This year, the show was part-nering with Farmstrong, an initiative launched last year to promote wellbeing for farmers.
The programme, a joint initiative between FMG Insurance and the Mental Health Foundation, aims to shift the focus of mental health from depression and illness to wellbeing.
The trio saw that was "just a natural fit'' for them, particularly with Dunbar and herself both coming from rural backgrounds and being passionate about rural life.
Part of looking after farmers' mental health and wellbeing was "getting out, being social and having a laugh'' so being able to bring some laughter and cheer people up for a night was a "really cool thing'', she said.
It was always exciting to have new material to perform and Parsons was looking forward to seeing how people enjoyed the sequel to The Bitches Box, because they were "super excited''about it.
The tour was very much DIY, with the trio and their crew of three bringing everything required for a performance to each shed.
That included a bar, 200 chairs, a stage curtain, props and full production equipment.
Being a touring musician was unlike a "normal'' job, working a certain number of hours and getting paid a certain amount, Parsons said.
She had to work out a way to make sure there were always shows coming up, while also working on new recordings.
Touring could be tiring but it also gave her "so much energy''.
Music was a little like a door-opener and it enabled her to have amazing interactions with people around the world, she said.
She joked it would be nice to have "a lovely holiday somewhere'' at the completion of the hectic month-long tour but she would be starting a tour in Germany two weeks after finishing.
Australia and Canada were on the agenda later in the year.
● Sons of a Bitch and Mel Parsons will perform at Waikaia on April 6, Wanaka on April 7, Luggate on April 8, Omarama on April 9 and Waimate on April 10.
