Last Friday night's feels had me heading for a little country at The Princess Theatre in Brisbane.
Who better to fill that need than a 55-year-old country music legend who has been pumping it out for the last 30-odd years and can boast (although he probably won't) around 40 Golden Guitar awards! That would be the humble and talented Troy Cassar-Daley, doing his first solo tour since 2019 with material from his latest studio album 'Between The Fires'.Brisbane gets show 16 of a 35 show tour. This sold-out show (19 July) is a seated performance with minimal standing room in front of the downstairs bar, and the place is filling pretty quickly
On this tour Troy has arranged for the next generation of artists to open each night and we are lucky to get Tom Busby (of Busby Marou) as our special treat. Opening with the 'The Great Unknown' – an apt song title for the adventure of creating this solo work but also for us, as Brisbane is the first to get a live tasting of his new material.
Busby is telling us about how circumstances found him travelling with his family unit to the United States and having them with him to record this solo album. 'Waiting For Tomorrow' is something he certainly did not do, making sure this album happened.
Next Busby is telling us about his wife, that everyone loves her and how she is also his roadie, merch bitch, PR person and maybe a little crazy. He also confesses that he is a little crazy and as their "crazies just match each other" this is why it works for them. Of course, the next song is for her and, you guessed it, it's titled 'Crazy'.
Tom Busby - image © Clea-marie Thorne
After 'My Senses', Sahara Beck is welcomed to the stage to join Busby for 'In The Dark'. It is a gorgeous song, Beck's vocals soar with such harmonic emotion, and she effortlessly makes her pipes ebb and flow with the high and low notes of the music.
Busby entertains us with banter between songs, sharing of his experiences which are well received by the crowd. So is their reaction through a loud sing-along erupting to his cover of U2's 'One' – great job by Busby on the vocals for this classic tune.
We are told he will finish the set with 'Waiting For You' (a Busby Marou song) and fans in the crowd sing-along to this banger too. We get a huge thanks for being the first audience for his solo album, which is met with more cheers. I think he is sitting on a winner spinner with this record.
After a short interval, First Nations storyteller and iconic Australian country music singer songwriter, Troy Cassar-Daley appears to our roars.
The title of the tour and his current album, 'Between The Fires' is his opening song. It's a reflection of the real grief, lost in a place of darkness he found himself in after the passing of his mum and his journey to find his way back "home".
A nod to Slim Dusty with a cover of 'Lights On The Hill' is next before 'Back On Country', which really does give you a sense of belonging and entices you to "join the choir" – its country-rock tones draw you like a river current to "lose yourself, maybe find yourself" in the stream of its aural arrangements.
The nostalgia of old cars, cousins and wind in your hair inspired some great country-rock vibes that created 'Let's Ride' and who better to shake a booty with him onstage and take control of a second mic than his beloved Laurel Edwards! It was a lively delight after some heavy feels.
Troy Cassar-Daley - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Well, the guest appearances don't stop there! Cassar-Daley is telling us when he was in Newcastle a while back, he met a younger Tom Busby with Jeremy Marou and discovered they were from Rockhampton. Busby Marou apparently did a cover of a family story song "Paul Kelly had picked out of"; Cassar-Daley performs 'Lonesome But Free' with Busby, who lets loose some grand gutsy vocals – it is magical.
Cassar-Daley then tells us a story about how he miraculously coasted into a petrol station in an old EH Holden at Maclean, on what must have been only fumes, so he tells us as he lifts his hat to put on his harp holder giving up some great harmonica notes to start 'Old Road Home'. The sound excites me no end.
Brisbane gets a welcome home from the headliner before dedicating the next song 'River Boy' to 11-year-old Ned. It's a clear fan favourite as the united fan choir tries to drown out Cassar-Daley with enthusiastic singing.
More storytelling follows about his teacher John Munro and a school project for Indigenous studies that led him to learn all about Charlie Perkins (the first Indigenous man to go to Sydney University and earn a degree) and it landed him an A+.
Later Cassar-Daley then wrote a song for Perkins in St Kilda with Paul Kelly and it won a Golden Guitar. 'Freedom Ride' was the song and is next on the set list. It too starts off with some glorious harp and gets booties wiggling, feet tapping and heads nodding about the room.
Troy Cassar-Daley - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Cassar-Daley shared with us his first vision of his dad who is now passed and some words of wisdom he gave to him. "If you worry about what people say Troy, you're gonna worry your life away."
He thought about that wisdom when he wrote the song 'Some Days' on the verandah and that it's a song that allows him to have a sad day and allow the feels because no life is perfect. The lyrics resonated with the crowd, and as he sang to us it was as if it was drawing us strangers closer to one another as we connected with it and our storyteller.
Knowing that 'Some Days' will pass, Troy is leading fans to rip it up with a good old upbeat karaoke rendition of 'Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys' (Ed Bruce cover) with their favourite songman and storyteller.
As he gets out his banjo, Troy gives thanks to the sound and venue production crew before another story about his cousin Matthew, who had pancreatic cancer and tied in as recount of a massacre (mother's family story), martial law, the silence of nature and the sound of old man river.
The song was nominated for Tamworth's Heritage Song Of The Year and it made the final five Golden Guitars, and three months after Matthew passed, the song won. A sinister hum sets the sombre mood for the song 'Shadows On The Hill' that speaks of death, escape, and Australia's dark past.
Troy Cassar-Daley - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Bringing lightness back in the room we are told that Anthony, the Blue Wiggle, gifted a banjo to Cassar-Daley. He has us in stitches recounting how it arrived by post and when he played it the only thing that would come out of it was 'Rock A Bye Bear' (The Wiggles cover) and other Wiggles songs, ha! We hear a short snippet that many in crowd are singing: "Everybody clap. Everybody sing. La la la."
Sharing the story of Windradyne a staunch Aboriginal warrior from the Bathurst plains that was able to bring black and white folk together, and during times of martial law he would unite different tribes together to fight and take revenge against the massacre of their people.
Legend has it Windradyne, although a warrior had a big heart and withdrew from enacting revenge on the home of a Scottish family as they told him in his own tongue "we are not part of this martial law; we have learned your language so we can get along," when he went to raze their home to the ground. Fascinating story and the song immortalise the story perfectly.
Cassar-Daley next gives a shoutout to his mother-in-law Dell and extended family for coming tonight. Cassar-Daley then explains how at soundchecks when he toured last year with Ian Moss, who plays beautiful guitar, would get his riff on. Moss is getting a double dedication from Cassar-Daley as he treats us to a good chunk of Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing' in his honour before eloquently morphing it into 'South'.
'This World Alone' we are told is a song inspired by a chat with Don Walker. It has a swampy delta vibe like you might be swaggering into an old saloon to claim an empty stool to sit alone at the bar for a shot of whiskey.
This is followed by 'Born To Survive' that evolved from the life story of an old farmer and shaped by a harmonica gifted from Paul Kelly with "magic spit in it". All too soon 'Dream Out Loud' is ending his set to our dismay – the time has gone so quickly and still hungry for more we are calling loudly for an encore.
Troy Cassar-Daley - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Cassar-Daley returns to our cheers and yells for more, shortly followed by his bass player and drummer who have been solid behind him the whole night. It is only fitting the last song comes from the new album and pretty much sums up the cycle of life, 'Good And Bad'.
The songs from this new album are about the ups and downs with some days being better than others, and a lesson that it's ok to feel. My friend tells me this is one song on the album that has made her cry each time she has listened to it. I get it – it's an emotive banger with all the feels of the real world; and having personally lost two friends within a couple of days of each other it hits home.
Cassar-Daley gave us a great selection of old favourites and covers during his set. His new originals channel his grief and personal challenges into relatable and captivating storytelling.
He told us this music was recorded from his family home in Halfway Creek, adding a deeply personal touch to an album he should be truly proud of, just as he is of his and his mother’s Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung heritage.
For me, it is the recounts of stories of other musicians, family and song origins he gives between the songs that are as informative and entertaining. Even without that insight, his lyrics showcase his status as a great contemporary storyteller and a man who can connect people – maybe he is the modern day Windradyne. You don't usually get such a personal touch from a recording.
With another 16 shows to go there's bound to be one near you. No excuses, just go see an enthralling Cassar-Daley artfully immortalising the dark and light chapters of his life through live music, drawing fans together with powerful unseen spiritual connections.
While live is best, 'Between The Fires' has the ability to resonate with anyone traversing the seasons of life and as a recording it can be there whenever you need to hear the messages most. It is not simple, but simply masterful.
More photos from the concert.
