Jamie McDell tour kicks off

FIRST STOP: Jamie McDell, New Zealand Music Awards winner, is playing at the Wanganui Repertory Theatre tonight. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED 08042015WCSUPJAMIE

New Zealand singer Jamie McDell kicks off her maiden nationwide tour in Wanganui tonight.

The tour comes on the back of the release of her second album Ask Me Anything two weeks ago and is the first chance for many New Zealand fans to see her live. "It definitely feels like it's been a long time coming," she said.

"For me it's making sure I get around places I haven't been and making sure it reaches everyone."

McDell won best pop album at the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards for her debut Six Strings and a Sailboat which also received gold certification for sales.

The Mangawhai songstress followed that album up with Ask Me Anything, which has debuted at number seven on the New Zealand album charts. McDell said it was exciting to be taking her music on the road.

She will be backed up by a full band which includes several musicians who have been with her from the start, helping record her first album.

The 22-year-old said she felt her songwriting and musicianship had matured since her first album. She's taken to writing about other people's stories, even drawing inspiration from her fans.

"I quite like the challenge because I'm having to kind of sit and think about how I can tell their story in a way that they can hopefully appreciate," she said.

McDell takes her fans seriously, cultivating a large online following which she interacts with as much as she can.

"I suppose for me I just have a really huge interest in the people that listen to my music. At the end of the day they're the ones that come to my shows."

-Jamie McDell is playing at the Wanganui Repertory Theatre at 7.30pm tonight. Tickets are $28.20 and available from http://tickets.nztix.co.nz/ or on the door. It is an all ages show.