Troy Cassar-Daley Wins ‘Best Country Album’ ARIA Award

Troy Cassar-Daley won the ARIA Award for ‘Best Country Album’ last night for his album, The World Today, as presented by Today’s entertainment reporter, Brooke Boney.

Accepting his award via video call, Cassar-Daley said, “I’m very thrilled to win [an ARIA award] for this particular record. I want to thank my wife, first of all, for putting up with me in the middle of COVID, nagging me to use Matt Fell as a producer, best thing I ever did. Everyone who voted, I’d like to say thank you. To my family at Sony Music, thank you very much for the dedication there. Roxanne Brown, my manager, I want to say thank you for all the hard work putting on this record as well. All my co-writers, I want to say a big thanks because you dragged me out of some really shitty places – Kev Bennett, Greg Storer, Paul Kelly, Don Walker – wouldn't have been able to make this record without you fellas, I really appreciate it. Thank you, ARIA. Very proud tonight. Thank you.”

Cassar-Daley has won the award four times previously – Beyond The Dancing (1995), Big River (2000), Brighter Day (2006) and I Love This Place (2009) – and been nominated twelve times in total.

Cassar-Daley later shared the news on social media, “All I can say is bloody wow!!! This album was one of my hardest to write, dark and sad and for a while I thought no one would get it. Thanks to all who voted, I’m buzzed and humbled by this @aria_official award, I can have a little cry now .”

Released in March 2021, The World Today debuted at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and #1 on the Australian and Country Albums Chart. The album tackles themes of grief, sadness, anger, love, passion, and acceptance, while finding a will to grow stronger and move forward. The lyrics touch on the tragic loss of his father and friend both to suicide in 2019, and troubles in his 25-year marriage, as well as being unable to tour and provide for his family during the pandemic, which left him feeling lost, alone, and hopeless. (read our review here)

Cassar-Daley said, “Songs started flowing not long after losing my father. I looked at myself in the mirror one morning and asked myself ‘what do I have to say?’ and ‘where do I go from here?’ Then COVID hit and I was like a rudderless ship bouncing in a sea of nothingness. Instead of staying in the darkness that had surrounded me, I found light in making music and telling stories, which was my saving grace as a kid and to this day as an adult. Suddenly I had 25 songs, a new deal with Sony Music Australia and some purpose to make new music once again.”

Brad Cox’s My Mind’s Projection, Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham’s The Song Club, Shane Nicholson’s Living In Colour and The Wolfe Brothers’ Kids On Cassette were also nominated for ‘Best Country Album’. All of which scored ‘Album of the Year’ nominations at the 2022 Golden Guitar Awards too, to be presented in January.   

Elsewhere, Taylor Swift took home the public voted award for ‘Most Popular International’ for her album, evermore. She was nominated in the same category last year with its sister record, folklore.

ARIA Chief Executive Annabelle Herd said, “The 2021 ARIA Awards have shown once again what incredible world-class music talent we have in Australia. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees for your outstanding success and achievement even through a really difficult time. Our artists are smashing it here and overseas and we can't wait to see them bringing the joy of live music back to audiences in 2022.”

The ARIAs were held at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo and broadcast via YouTube and 9Now on November 24.

Check out the full list of winners below.

2021 ARIA AWARD RECIPIENTS

Album Of The Year
Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)

Best Artist
The Kid LAROI - Stay (with Justin Bieber) (Columbia/Sony Music)

Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist
Budjerah - Budjerah (EP) (Warner Music Australia)

Best Pop Release
The Kid LAROI - Stay (with Justin Bieber) (Columbia/Sony Music)

Best Hip Hop Release Presented By Menulog
Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)

Best Independent Release Presented by PPCA
Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)

Best Soul/R&B Release
Tkay Maidza - Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 (Dew Process/Universal Music Australia)

Best Dance Release
RÜFÜS DU SOL - Alive (Rose Avenue Records/Reprise/Warner Music)

Best Group 
RÜFÜS DU SOL - Alive (Rose Avenue Records/Reprise/Warner Music)

Best Rock Album
Middle Kids - Today We're The Greatest (EMI Music Australia)

Best Adult Contemporary Album
Crowded House - Dreamers Are Waiting (EMI Music Australia)

Best Country Album
Troy Cassar-Daley - The World Today (Tarampa Music / Sony Music)

Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album
Tropical F**k Storm - Deep States (TFS Records/Virgin Music)

Best Blues & Roots Album
Archie Roach - The Songs Of Charcoal Lane (Bloodlines/Mushroom)

Best Children's Album 
Bluey - Bluey The Album - (Ludo Studios / Demon Music Group / BBC Studios / Rocket)

PUBLIC VOTED AWARDS

Best Video presented by YouTube Music
Missing Piece - Vance Joy, Annelise Hickey (Liberation Records/Mushroom Group)

Best Australian Live Act presented by Heaps Normal 
Lime Cordiale - Relapse Tour (Chugg Music Pty Ltd)

Song of the Year presented by YouTube Music 
Spacey Jane - Booster Seat (AWAL Recordings)

Most Popular International
Taylor Swift - Evermore (Universal Music Australia)

Telstra ARIA Music Teacher Award 
Zoë Barry - Sacred Heart School, Melbourne VIC

ARTISAN AWARDS

Best Cover Art
Kofi Ansah & Bailey Howard for Genesis Owusu - Smiling with No Teeth (OURNESS / AWAL)

Engineer Of The Year 
Konstantin Kersting

Producer Of The Year
Konstantin Kersting & The Rubens

FINE ARTS AWARDS

Best Classical Album
Genevieve Lacey and Marshall McGuire - Bower (ABC Classic / Universal)

Best Jazz Album 
Mildlife - Automatic (Inertia Music / [PIAS])

Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album
Angus & Julia Stone - Life Is Strange (BMG/WMG)

Best World Music Album
Joseph Tawadros  - Hope In An Empty City  (Independent / The Planet Company)

Keep up to date with Troy Cassar-Daley, follow him on Facebook here.

For more news from CountryTown, check out here.

Image: Supplied