Troy Cassar-DaleyBy the time this interview wrapped, Troy Cassar-Daley and Ian Moss were more than ready for a beer; and honestly, that pretty much sums up the energy of their Together Alone tour. It’s relaxed, it’s genuine, and it’s built on years of friendship, mutual respect and a shared love of really good songs.
The roots of this collaboration actually go way further back than you might think. As Moss put it, “Look, the seed was probably planted, oh geez, when was it? 15 years ago, something?” - back when the two first properly crossed paths during a recording session with Nash Chambers on the Central Coast.
Cassar-Daley picks up the story, explaining how a casual invite turned into something more: “Don [Walker] called me and said, ‘Do you mind if I bring Ian up for a bit of a run to the Central Coast?’ And I said, ‘Nah, bring him up, it'd be great.’”
“Ian who?” Moss jokes, before both crack up with laughter. The story then rolls into what would become a defining moment for their musical connection.
Cassar-Daley recalls spotting Moss in the control room, singing along to Dark End of the Street: “I could see Ian singing along and when… when I put the actual microphone on and hear what was going on in the control room, it just sounded really beautiful and I said, ‘Ian, come in here and… and sing your part and we'll do it together, you know.’ And next thing you know, he's on the record.”
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For Moss, that moment shifted his perspective entirely. “I’d sort of hadn’t really known Troy much but just assumed, I don't know, he was a straight-ahead sort of country singer, but then when I heard him singing blues, I went, ‘Oh, geez. Yeah, this guy can sing the blues.’”
That blend of styles - country, rock and blues - still sits at the core of what they do together now. And it’s not just about genre; it’s about substance. “We know it's really important to have good songs,” Moss says. “We're not into just singing, ‘Hey baby, I love you,’ kind of stuff. We really want to sing lyrics that mean a lot to us.” Cassar-Daley agrees, adding that working alongside Moss constantly raises the bar: “Ian always makes me want to be a better guitar player… because we're both guitar nerds completely.”
That chemistry is exactly what fuels Together Alone, a show that strips things right back - no band, no safety net, just two artists on stage. Cassar-Daley laughs when asked about the title “I think it was the fact that we're being alone without a band… but we are together as two blokes on the stage doing it.” before adding “it's a great way to tell the stories behind the songs.”
And while there’s structure to the show “you want the build and the drop down and the climax,” Moss explains, it’s far from rigid. “There’s plenty of improvisation… we never play the same thing twice each night.” Cassar-Daley sums it up even more simply: “It sounds like two fellas who just love to play.”
A big part of that experience also extends to fans through their VIP offering, which flips the usual post show meet and greet on its head. “Instead of sitting there going 'check, one, two' to your sound guy, we play some different songs, for the people who pay that premium to come and see that soundcheck. And it... it really is one of the highlights of the tour because they get to listen to something that obviously we won't play in the show” Cassar-Daley explains. Moss adds that it’s a welcome shift: “You’d shuffle out after the show… but generally you're pretty tired by then.” Now, the VIP session feels more like a warm up gig, one that benefits both artist and audience.
And don’t be surprised if this tour leads to new music from the pair either. “It’s definitely on the cards for sure,” Moss says, with Cassar-Daley pointing to past collaborations as proof of what can happen when they’re on the road together. “It's like rebuilding a motor sometimes with a song,” he explains. “But it ended up being this beautiful sort of collaboration… and I’m sure that when we're together hanging out… something else can grow.”
There’s also a genuine appreciation for each other’s work that comes through loud and clear. Moss names Shadows on the Hill as a song he wishes he’d written, while Cassar-Daley picks Moss’s Never Before.
It’s that mutual admiration, and a shared history of life on the road, that makes this tour feel special, particularly as it leans into regional Australia. “We’ve both come from country towns,” Moss says. “I just feel at home.” Cassar-Daley adds that those quieter moments between shows are just as important: “Half the value for us is being able to walk these small towns in your downtime and take 'em in with you… because they’re really, really beautiful places.”
And then there are the stories made on the road which still hold a special place in the pair's hearts, like the time they pulled into a motel in Bathurst, blasting Frank Sinatra so loudly they probably woke half the building. “Ian was playing some of the most beautiful music in the car from Bonnie Raitt to Frank Sinatra. He wouldn’t turn the engine off of the car until Frank had finished singing,” Cassar-Daley laughs. “It was so loud it could nearly take the paint off the motel wall… but it was so worth it.”
At its core, Together Alone isn’t about big production or flashy moment - it’s about connection. As Moss puts it: “The main reason is having great songs. Songs that will be built, and written to last forever.”
And when you’ve got two artists like this swapping stories, trading solos, and clearly having the time of their lives that’s more than enough reason to show up.
Tickets available now via either Troy Cassar-Daley’s Website or Ian Moss’ Website.
