Troy Cassar-Daley

Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian country music songwriter and entertainer of Aboriginal heritage. He released his first single, "Dream Out Loud", in 1994 , followed by his debut album, Beyond the Dancing, in 1995, and has continued to release music since then, including the platinum-selling The Great Country Songbook with Adam Harvey. Throughout his career he has received many awards, including ARIA Music Awards, Golden Guitars, Deadly Awards, Country Music Association of Australia Entertainer of the Year awards, and National Indigenous Music Awards.

Early life and career Troy Cassar-Daley was born on 18 May 1969 At a very young age, he moved with his mother to Grafton in north-eastern New South Wales. At eleven, Troy went to the Tamworth Country Music Festival and returned the next year to busk on the streets.

At 16, he and his band, Little Eagle, were touring the North Coast of New South Wales and he made the top 10 in Tamworth's Toyota Star Maker Quest. He won the 1986 "Search for a Star" competition and then toured with Brian Young for seven months, in which he began to develop his songwriting skills. After returning home he replaced James Blundell as leader of country music band The Blue Heeler Band.

Solo career By late 1993 Cassar-Daley had enough original songs for a debut EP. The first single "Dream Out Loud" was released on 24 October 1994 by Sony Music and reached number-one on the Australian country music charts. His first album, Beyond the Dancing, was released in January 1995 and won the ARIA Award for Best Country Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 1995. At the 1996 Country Music Awards, in Tamworth, Cassar-Daley won Best Male Vocalist. He also made a cameo appearance in the motion picture Race the Sun in which he performed a song in a bar scene.

In June 1996, Cassar-Daley was part of the Australian Country Music Showcase in Nashville. The Showcase included Lee Kernaghan, Gina Jeffreys and Tommy Emmanuel. As a result, Cassar-Daley returned to the US to record his new album True Believer (1998) with Steve Dorff. His follow-up, Big River (1999),won another best country album ARIA Award at the ARIA Music Awards of 2000. His next three studio albums were Long Way Home (2002), Borrowed & Blue (2004), and Brighter Day (2005), the latter also winning a best country album ARIA Award. His next album, I Love This Place (2009) also won an Aria award for best country album and marked his change of record labels from Sony to Liberation Music.

Cassar-Daley performed the national anthem at the 2003 NRL grand final. He partnered up with Kate Ritchie for the singing competition It Takes Two aired on Seven Network in 2006. In May 2007 he re-appeared on the same show, this time partnered with Krystal Forscutt, a former contestant on Network Ten's Big Brother program. The same year, Cassar-Daley was featured in Wiggles music videos for the songs "Old Dan Tucker" and "Turkey in the Straw". Cassar-Daley with Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson played together at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 14 March 2009 for Sound Relief which was a multi-venue rock music concert in support of relief for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis. The event was held simultaneously with another concert taking place at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Cassar-Daley went on to release the albums Home (2012), The Great Country Songbook with Adam Harvey (2013), and Freedom Ride (2015). In 2017 Cassar-Daley was the 50th inductee into the prestigious Australian Roll of Renown. In October 2018, Cassar-Daley released his 42-track double album Greatest Hits, along with a new single called "Wouldn't Change A Thing" on the Bloodlines label, part of Mushroom Group. The extensive album was also released on vinyl.

In June 2020, Cassar-Daley signed a worldwide label deal with Sony Music Entertainment Australia; he had first signed to the label in 1995. He released the albums Christmas for Cowboys in 2020 and The World Today in 2021, which won the best country album award at that year's ARIA Music Awards.

In 2024, he released his next studio album, Between the Fires, touring the country for the first time since 2019 to promote it. He recorded the album at his family home at Halfway Creek in Northern New South Wales, as he was grieving the loss of his mother.

Personal life

Cassar-Daley is married to radio and television presenter Laurel Edwards with whom he has two children. One of their children is singer-songwriter Jem Cassar-Daley.

In 2020, Cassar-Daley's participation in Australia's Who Do You Think You Are? was broadcast on SBS, where he traced both his ancestral roots on his father's side in Malta, and his mother's Aboriginal Australian ancestry.

Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak positions Certifications(sales thresholds) AUS Beyond the Dancing Release date: January 1995 Label: Columbia (478211 2) Formats: CD, Cassette - True Believer Release date: January 1997 Label: Columbia (486872 2) Formats: CD, Cassette 53 ARIA: Gold Big River Release date: August 1999 Label: Columbia (495236 2) Formats: CD, Cassette 49 ARIA: Gold Long Way Home Release date: 27 May 2002 Label: Essence Records/EMI Music (5399092) Formats: CD, Cassette 77 ARIA: Gold Borrowed & Blue Release date: 19 April 2004 Label: Essence Records/EMI Music (5979432) Formats: CD, Cassette 89 Brighter Day Release date: 10 October 2005 Label: Essence Records/EMI Music (3427112) Formats: CD, Cassette 46 I Love This Place Release date: 17 April 2009 Label: Liberation Records (LMCD0046) Formats: CD, Cassette, LP 34 Home Release date: 2 March 2012 Label: Liberation Records (LMCD0163) Formats: CD+DVD, digital 9 The Great Country Songbook (with Adam Harvey) Release date: 14 June 2013 Label: Sony Music Australia (88765434052) Formats: CD, digital 2 ARIA: Platinum Freedom Ride Release date: 13 March 2015 Label: Liberation Records (LMCD0251) Formats: CD, digital 4 Things I Carry Around Release date: 26 August 2016 Label: Liberation Records (LMCD0300) Formats: CD, digital 5 Christmas for Cowboys Release date: 6 November 2020 Label: Sony Music (19439807412) Formats: CD, digital 13 The World Today Release date: 19 March 2021 Label: Sony Music (19439857022) Formats: CD, LP, digital 3 Between the Fires Release date: 10 May 2024 Label: Sony Music (19658875352) Formats: CD, 2×LP, digital 2

Live albums Title Details Peak positions Certifications(sales thresholds) AUS AUS Top 40 Music DVD ARIA: Gold Greatest Hits Live Release date: 9 September 2011 Label: Liberation Music (LMCD0150) Formats: CD, DD — 50 Songs 50 Towns Released: 12 August 2022 Label: Sony Music Australia (19658722012) Formats: 3×CD, DD 8 Together Alone: Live At The Ulumbarra Theatre (with Ian Moss) Released: 2 October 2026 Label: Mosstopper / Tarampa Formats: Digital, CD, 2×LP

Compilation albums Title Details Peak positions Certifications(sales thresholds) AUS The Essential Troy Cassar-Daley Release date: 22 April 2011 Label: Sony (886977644320) Formats: CD — Lost & Found Release date: 28 March 2018 Label: Bloodlines (9341004057951) Formats: Download, streaming — Greatest Hits Release date: 19 October 2018 Label: Bloodlines (BLOOD33) Formats: CD, vinyl, download, streaming 7

Extended plays Title Details Together Alone Tour (with Ian Moss) Release date: 25 February 2022 Label: Formats: CD, DD, streaming Recorded live at Freight Train Studios

Awards and nominations Cassar-Daley received his 45th Golden Guitar at the 53rd edition of the awards in January 2025. He has also received nine Deadly Awards (Australian Indigenous Artist Awards), four Country Music Association of Australia Entertainer of the Year awards, and two National Indigenous Music Awards.

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. They commenced in 2006. 2011 Troy Cassar-Daley Live Best Independent Artist 2015 Freedom Ride Best Independent Country Album

APRA Awards Cassar-Daley had been nominated for twelve awards, winning three at the APRA Awards.

"Another Australian Day"

"Freedom Ride" (with Paul Kelly)

"Wouldn't Change a Thing" Most Performed Country Work of the Year "Shutting Down Our Town" (Cassar-Daley) by Jimmy Barnes featuring Troy Cassar-Daley Most Performed Rock Work of the Year 2024 "Nullarbor Plain" (Ian Moss and Troy Cassar-Daley) by Ian Moss Most Performed Rock Work

ARIA Awards Cassar-Daley has been nominated for thirteen awards, winning five at the ARIA Music Awards 1995 Beyond the Dancing Best Country Album 1997 "True Believers" Best Country Album 1998 True Believer Best Country Album 2000 Big River Best Country Album 2002 Long Way Home Best Country Album 2004 Borrowed & Blue Best Country Album 2006 Brighter Day Best Country Album 2009 I Love This Place Best Country Album 2011 Troy Cassar-Daley Live Best Country Album 2012 Home

2013 The Great Country Songbook (with Adam Harvey) Best Country Album 2015 Freedom Ride Best Country Album 2021 The World Today Best Country Album

Best Country Album Best Solo Artist Michael Bryers for Troy Cassar-Daley - Between the Fires Best Cover Art CMAA Awards The Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. Cassar-Daley has won forty-five awards, the most of any artist.

(wins only)

Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. 1997 True Believer Album of the Year 2001 himself Country Artist of the Year 2003 himself Male Artist of the Year 2004 himself Male Artist of the Year

himself Male Artist of the Year "Lonesome But Free" Single of the Year 2007 "Going Back Home" Song of the Year 2012 Home Album of the Year 2013 himself Male Artist of the Year

Environmental Music Prize The Environmental Music Prize is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022. 2023 Back On Country" Environmental Music Prize

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Troy Cassar-Daley won six awards in that time. (wins only) 1997 Troy Cassar-Daley Male Country Entertainer of the Year 1998 Troy Cassar-Daley Male Country Entertainer of the Year 1999 Troy Cassar-Daley Male Country Entertainer of the Year 2002 Troy Cassar-Daley Male Country Entertainer of the Year 2003 Troy Cassar-Daley Male Country Entertainer of the Year 2008 Troy Cassar-Daley Slim Dusty Male Country Vocal Performer of the Year

National Indigenous Music Awards The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. They commenced in 2004.

himself Artist of the Year Home Album of the Year

himself Artist of the Year Things I Carry Around Album of the Year "Things I Carry Around" Song of the Year

"Back On Country" Film Clip of the Year 2024 Between the Fires Album of the Year

Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.

(wins only) 2009 "Big Big Love" Published Song of the Year 2025 Between the Fires Album of the Year