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 (2013) 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 in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills to a Maltese-Australian father and an Aboriginal mother from the Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung people. 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.Troy Cassar-Daley – It Takes Two
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,It Takes Two official website this time partnered with Krystal Forscutt,Krystal Forscutt – It Takes Two 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. All the proceeds from the Melbourne Concert went to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Relief Appeal.
Cassar-Daley went on to release the albums Home (2012), The Great Country Songbook with Adam Harvey (2013), and Freedom Ride (2015). In August 2016, Cassar-Daley released his first book, an autobiography of his early life and music career titled Things I Carry Around with an accompanying album of the same title. 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.Enough Rope with Andrew Denton – episode 109: Troy Cassar-Daley (26/06/2006) Welcome to LaurelEdwards.com 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 Troy Cassar-Daley Live Release date: 22 October 2010 Label: Liberation Music (LMCD0117)/(LIBDVD1111) Formats: CD, DVD, DD — 20 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 Almost Home Release date: 23 January 2006 Label: Rajon (CDR0543) Formats: CD, cassette — Born to Survive (The Best of) Release date: July 2007 Label: EMI Music (5099 2 425012 2) Formats: CD, DD 18 ARIA: Gold 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.
| 1998 || "Little Things" || Most Performed Country Work || |- | 1999 || "Biggest Disappointment" || Most Performed Country Work || |- | 2000 || "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" || Most Performed Country Work || |- | 2004 || "Wish I Was a Train" (with Paul Kelly) || Most Performed Country Work || |- | 2005 || "Factory Man" || Most Performed Country Work || |- | 2007 || "Going Back Home" || Most Performed Country Work || |- | 2008 || "Everything's Going to be Alright" || Country Work of the Year || |- | 2010 || "Big Big Love" || Song of the Year || |- | 2010 || "Big Big Love" || Country Work of the Year || |- | 2012 || "Country Is" (Troy Cassar-Daley / Colin Buchanan) || Song of the Year || |- | rowspan="2"| 2013 || "Country Is" || Most Performed Country Work || |- | "Home" || Song of the Year || |- | rowspan="2"| 2016 | "Another Australian Day" | rowspan="2"| Song of the Year
| "Freedom Ride" (with Paul Kelly)
| rowspan="2"| 2020 | "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 | Best Country Album || |- | 2013 | The Great Country Songbook (with Adam Harvey) | Best Country Album
| 2015 | Freedom Ride | Best Country Album
| 2021 | The World Today | Best Country Album
| rowspan="3"| 2024 | rowspan="2"| Between the Fires | 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. Cassar-Daley was inducted into the Australian Roll of Renown in 2019.
(wins only) |- |rowspan="1"| 1996 || "End of the Road" || Male Vocalist of the Year || |- |rowspan="3"| 1998 || True Believer || Album of the Year || |- | "Little Things" || Male Vocalist of the Year || |- | "Little Things" || Video of the Year || |-