Australian country artist Troy Cassar-Daley said something interesting on a podcast a few months ago. Apparently, when he started, country music was considered “daggy.” (FYI, that’s Australian slang for something “not fashionable or attractive” or just plain “dirty and untidy”.)

It certainly didn’t stop him from pursuing a pretty successful career in that genre, though. 

So how have things changed since Troy’s formative years? Has Australia finally started appreciating country music in 2024?

PART 191 OF “AM I EVER GONNA SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN?” A RANDOM COLLECTION OF UNKNOWINGLY OBVIOUS FACTS ABOUT AUSTRALIAN MUSIC SCENE

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Staying relevant in the music business for 30+ years is no small feat. Achieving that as a country artist is even more impressive.

Troy Cassar-Daley kicked off his music adventure in the 90s. Since then, he’s become one of the most prolific and beloved country artists, with 20 albums to date, including studio and live ones, plus compilations. 

His industry achievements are pretty remarkable. The Sydney native boasts collaborations with acts like the Scottish-Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes, First Nations rapper/activist Briggs and fellow country artist Kasey Chambers.

He’s also won several music industry trophies. Amongst them are ARIAs (the Australian equivalent to The Grammys), Golden Guitars (the Australian country music accolades), and NIMAs (the National Indigenous Music Awards).

Troy is the only artist in his genre to have his latest album, ‘Between The Fires’, featured at #12 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Albums for the week of 22 July 2024. It’s worth mentioning here because the record dropped two and a half months ago.

Additionally, at the end of May, the muso embarked on a 33-date tour in support of that release. Apart from visiting capital cities, i.e. Adelaide or Sydney, he’s stopping by smaller places, like Mareeba (in Northern Queensland, close to Cairns) or Anglesea (on the Great Ocean Road, in Victoria). Most of his shows on that tour have been selling fast or selling out long before their scheduled dates.

To me, Troy Cassar-Daley’s story is a sign that country music is slowly reclaiming its rightful place within the Australian national scene. And I have more arguments to prove it.

With a disclaimer that some changes might not yet be reflected, Wikipedia currently lists 96 artists under the Australian Country Singers category. Three others are classified as Australian Alternative Country Singers, and 48 belong to the Australian Country Singer-Songwriters subcategory. While some names appear in more than one place on those lists (i.e. Chris Pickering), that is not a bad number. Wouldn’t you say?

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A post shared by Fanny Lumsden (@fannylumsden)

To put that in context for you: it’s less than in rock (over 110), but more than in folk (50+).

So what about those other Australian country artists? 

When I interviewed Fanny Lumsden for my Silly Talks Music podcast in March, she curated a playlist with her favourite acts. And I’m glad I asked the muso for help. Otherwise, I’m sure I’d never hear about most of the artists she included there.  

I also attended Fanny’s gig in London in April this year. And let me tell you this – she surely knows how to entertain a (foreign) crowd.

It’s not only my opinion, though. By popular demand, she’s back in the UK right now. For the Scottish leg of the tour, she’s bringing her signature Country Halls shows, which are super popular in Australia. That tells me that country artists from Down Under are slowly conquering other continents as well.

And what’s the story with country music shows in Oz then?

The Country Music Bulletin mentions countless events in Australia throughout the year. Aside from the iconic ones, like Big Red Bash or Tamworth Country Music Festival, the good news is that two brand new ones are on the horizon.

Ridin’ Hearts is coming to Melbourne and Sydney in November 2024. While most acts on its line-up are American, Casey Barnes and Bella Mackenzie proudly hold the fort as Australian reps.

Fun fact here as well. The second name on the Ridin’ Hearts bill is Cooper Alan. He might be from North Carolina in the US, but his listenership on Spotify is mostly Australian.

The second addition to the country music festival list is also worth your while. The first edition of Howlin Country will take place in Newcastle, NSW, in February 2025.

Here, the line-up seems a bit more varied. Apart from the headliner, the rest of the acts announced so far are Australian (i.e. my fave Brad Cox). Additionally, some artists blend country with other genres, like the indie folk trio, Sons of the East.

Now, let’s briefly talk about playlists and charts.

A few weeks ago, a country artist made the cover of the New Music Friday AU & NZ playlist on Spotify. Sadly, he wasn’t Australian. But if Zach Bryan gets the platform editors’ attention, the path is cleared for the Aussies, in my humble view. 

I’ve also reviewed the ARIA Charts 2023 global overview in the singles and albums category. Both paint a similar picture to Spotify. Some country acts are repeated throughout the top 100 rankings. But again, they’re mostly American.

Nevertheless, that clearly shows a strong country music following Down Under. So Casey Musgraves and Luke Combs will, hopefully, soon be joined by local country artists in the top spots.

And speaking of Troy Cassar-Daley again, one of the shows on his current tour is in D’Aguilar, Queensland. And you wouldn’t guess what the venue is called… The Dag Pub. Hilarious, right?

Which brings me to my conclusion. I reckon the next step should be to get at least one country song into the triple J’s Hottest 100. Because that still seems to be the synonym of cool Down Under, correct?

So, someone – please lobby the youth broadcaster to start paying more attention to country music and promoting it amongst young punters. And then, maybe one of Troy’s anthems could at least make the list for the countdown entries in January 2025.

I’d certainly vote for it.

_{Cover photo by Brice Cooper on Unsplash}

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