Troy Cassar-Daley talks career highlights ahead of Together Alone concert with Ian Moss at Geraldton’s QPT

Topping anything that Slim Dusty achieved means you have achieved legend status in the country music world yourself. And that is exactly the rarefied air that Troy Cassar-Daley is in, after winning his 40th Golden Guitar at the event’s 50th event this year, breaking Slim’s record in the process. The beloved country singer-songwriter shared some of his most memorable career moments with the Geraldton Guardian before visiting the Mid West on tour next week. Cassar-Daley and Aussie rock legend Ian Moss will bring their Together Alone national tour to Geraldton when they perform at Queens Park Theatre on Wednesday, July 20. “We don’t get to tour something like this very often, it’s special to be on stage and make music with a good friend,” Cassar-Daley said. “People probably think, how a bloke from Cold Chisel and a country fellow musically work on stage? People in Geraldton need to get a ticket and see what happens, because so much has grown out of us on stage and we’ve both learnt a lot.” Talking about his record Golden Guitar haul, Cassar-Daley said it was a hard pill to swallow to topple icons Slim Dusty and Lee Kernaghan’s record of 37 guitars. “I struggled with it for a little while,” he said. “But I received a beautiful email and phone call from his (Slim’s) widow, Joy McKean, and knowing she was on side and totally supportive of it made me feel a little bit better about it. “I felt like I didn’t deserve it, but when you’ve been around for as long as I have I guess these records are eventually going to be broken.” During award nights, Cassar-Daley said it was difficult to find time for a break. One year when he snuck to the bathroom, Jimmy Barnes was calling his name out on stage. “There was one time I won a Golden Guitar off Jimmy Barnes and I was in the toilet when they read it out,” he recalled. “I heard someone screaming, where is Troy Cassar-Daley? I ran out and Jim was waiting for me on stage. I’ll never forget the look on his face when I ran towards him.” Furthermore, he said winning a Golden Guitar for a song written with Moss and performed on tour was a special moment. And he couldn’t forget the cameo performance for the 1996 movie Race The Sun when he met American actress Halle Berry in Sydney. “I didn’t think it was for me, but Sony Music said it was a great opportunity. The couple of days we were shooting there, we had to sit down and have lunch with the crew. “Halle Berry was just stunning. I thought she was pretty enough on screen but when you look at her up close, my gosh she’s a beautiful woman. It was a heap of fun and I’ll never forget it,” he said. Cassar-Daley said he gained appreciation for the country when he toured Australia for nine months when he was just 20. “That was one of the most amazing things that had ever happened to me because we saw every corner of Australia. We were in a town called Giles and it was the most remote place I’d ever seen,” he said. Cassar-Daley said Goanna’s record Spirit of Place was in his top three albums of all time, as well as finding inspiration in many First Nations artists. “I really admired a lot of Indigenous artists like Jimmy Little and the band Goanna growing up. When you get the chance to know them as people and not just a label you feel pretty privileged to have a relationship with them.” Cassar-Daley’s song, Make The Most Of Every Day. is played by the musician as a reminder of how much he appreciates family. “Having my daughter on the road in 2019 with me when we went through WA, that was one of the highlights of my career,” Cassar-Daley said. “She still talks about those days of being on the road, seeing Australia, getting up for early morning walks and going to Mandurah to watch the dolphins come in. It was just incredible and those types of things don’t come around very often.” Cassar-Daley said the best part of touring was the opportunity to meet like-minded people. “We found that everywhere Ian and I go, the crowds have just been so hungry to listen to live music. We just really enjoy the vibe that people are creating at every show,” he said. “You build up friendships and families on your way around — that’s the best part of touring. It really makes you feel like you belong to a larger family than you do.” Tickets are available at troycassardaley.com.au.