Casey Barnes Wins The Golden Guitar Award For Top Selling Australian Album Of 2022

Casey Barnes had a massive 2022 and proved that there is more than enough room for another Barnes in Australian music.

Tamworth Regional Council and the Country Music Association of Australia Inc have announced that the Get To Know Ya singer is the winner of the 2023 Golden Guitar Award for Top Selling Australian Album of the Year for his latest album, Light It Up. ARIA charts data determine the winner of the Top Selling Australian Album of the Year award between 1 January to 31 December 2022 for albums of new material released in 2022.

Barnes released Light It Up in February 2022. His seventh album debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australia Country Album Chart and took out the 2022 ARIA Award for Country Album of the Year. The record has spent over ten months on the ARIA Country Album Chart. 

In addition to his Golden Guitar Award for Top Selling Australian Album of the Year, Barnes has been nominated for another five Golden Guitar awards, including Male Artist of the Year and Toyota Album of the Year. 

He said about the win: "This is a huge honour, and extra special being my first Golden Guitar win capping off a year I’ll never forget. This one’s as much for the fans too, who have been amazing with their support of the album. It’s always your biggest goal to release a record that people connect with, so I’m incredibly grateful."

Tamworth Regional Council will present the Toyota 51^st Golden Guitar Awards live on Saturday, 21 January 2023, from Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre and live-streamed via the Tamworth Country Music Festival website.  

Town Of A Million Dreams hit number 16 on the ARIA charts and was nominated for Best Country Album at the ARIA Awards. Barnes has also been embraced by Tamworth, with a swag of Golden Guitar nominations, including two at 2022's delayed awards: Male Artist of the Year and Single of the Year for Light It Up’s second single, God Took His Time On You.

Being accepted by Australia’s country community means a lot to Barnes, he told Jeff Jenkins. “I’m extremely grateful to have earnt my stripes in the country community and to have their support. To be up for a couple of Golden Guitars is really humbling.”