For Those No Longer With Us, Keep The Fires Lit
In July 2022, Troy Cassar-Daley’s Mum, Irene, died unexpectedly while he was on tour in Perth. With his lighthouse gone and just a couple of years after losing his Dad, Troy understandably lost sight of what was in front of him. Then, one day, what he does best—seeing a story and turning it into a song—returned from an unexpected location.
He was preparing to clear his Mum’s home in the NSW Clarence Valley, in Gumbaynggirr Country, her people’s land. Troy felt torn between that loss and the growing distance between him and his wife, the excellent Queensland radio announcer Laurel Edwards. Standing between those two fires that both needed air, he was inspired to create his 13th studio album and record it in the kitchen, lounge, and surroundings of his Mum’s home.
I have followed Troy throughout his career and booked tickets to see him in Gundaroo in August as soon as they were available. When he released Some Days, the fourth single from that 13th album he called Between the Fires, I watched the video filmed on the porch of his Mum’s place in Halfway Creek.
Midway through, something happened that made me gasp while every hair stood on end. I paused, returned to the clip, and started watching it again. I swear to you that I saw the spirit of his Mum open the screen door while he sings, then stand in front of Troy.
I felt bashful asking Troy if he’d noticed it, too. But it seems I wasn’t the only one.
“When I first viewed the clip, I didn’t watch it too closely because I was a little bit too upset,” Troy reveals. “In the meantime, my auntie and cousin had been ringing and ringing me, trying to get in touch.
When I finally answered, they said:
‘Your mother walked through that door, and possibly your father. Just watch it again so you can see how it swings open.’
“That whole recording, I felt Mum’s presence very hour of every day.
She definitely had a hand in this record.”
There’s something about Troy Cassar-Daley that resonates with people. Between the Fires is currently #1 on the Australian Country Album Chart and #2 on the ARIA Album Chart, the highest spot for an Australian artist this year. He’s won 5 ARIA and 3 APRA Song of the Year awards, plus an incredible 40(!) Golden Guitars. Yet he treats every gig as if he’s doing it just for you, for the first time:
“I think my songs being around for so long have played a small part in people’s lives,” Troy muses. “I’m looking forward to sharing some old and new ones with everyone.
“I always get nervous before a tour,” he admits. “You’re sharing a part of you that people may not have heard before. That’s how raw and honest this album is.
“Hopefully, folks who attend the show will take something away to store in their hearts for later use when not feeling so great.”
Things have settled now for the Cassar- Daley family; if by ‘settled’ we mean crazy-busy and creative, of course. Troy and Laurel’s daughter, Jem Cassar-Daley, is a fantastic singer-songwriter in her own right, recently winning Song of the Year and Pop Award at the Queensland Music Awards. She is often seen performing alongside her dear Dad. Meanwhile, their son, Clay, has followed Mum into the radio business.
“I’ve watched our children grow into adults and become happy people,” Troy beams. “There’s been no bigger pleasure in my life. The same is true for Laurel. We cherish that our kids love spending time with us, hanging out or going out to dinner, fixing cars, and having jams around our kitchen table and the piano. It’s all very normal for us.
“I’m looking down the barrel of 55. I still feel like I’m 25. Maybe I’m immature. But sometimes, I sit in the centre of it all and take it in. I am a fortunate man.”
Add to this Troy’s recently upgraded EH Holden Daphne with which he loves to tinker and drive, and the Between the Fires Australia-wide tour.
“I’m looking forward to travelling with Laurel,” he says in closing. “Spending as much time as I can with the kids, catching fish, and making sure there’s no sign of dry rot in our old house.
“12 months will see us cover nearly every state and territory, and I feel more than ready to take it on again.
I’m always looking for another story to turn into another song somewhere on the road.”
Listen to Between the Fires on Spotify.
Troy Cassar-Daley plays at Tallagandra Hill Winery Gundaroo on Friday, 9 August. Tickets are sold out. His Between the Fires tour continues till the end of November 2024. Visit troycassardaley.com.au for more info.