Tag: Casey Barnes

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Casey Barnes Gets Romantic With “God Took His Time On You”

Last time we heard new music from Casey Barnes, he was rocking out with the sexy “Come Turn Me On.” But he reveals a more tender side with his latest single “God Took His Time On You.” It’s another confident country-crossover track that should make listeners swoon. It also proves that a pandemic and its border closures don’t have to stand in the way of creating a great song with people on the other side of the world.

“I’ve absolutely loved teaming up with my US buddies in Brown & Gray co-writing tracks for this next album and when we worked on this single we knew straight away it was something really special. Every lyric in this song is a dedication to the one you love. Using the metaphor in the line ‘when heaven dreamt you up, God took his time on you’ I think is the ultimate tribute of how perfect you feel your partner is.”

“God Took His Time On You” is the latest track from Casey’s next album, which will drop early next year. Hopefully the country will be a little more open and Casey can tour it as planned. Before that, Casey will defend his Artist of the Year title and hopefully pick up Song of the Year, Release of the Year, and Live Act of the Year at the 2021 Gold Coast Music Awards on September 4.

Image used with permission from Revolutions per Minute

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Casey Barnes Announces More Tour Dates to Support Smash Single

You might remember me writing about Casey Barnes’ single “Come Turn Me On” back in March. Since then, the song has blown up. It’s number one on every country music chart in Australia, it’s been number one for four weeks on the country airplay chart, and it’s in the top 40 for all genres on iTunes. This is Casey’s third number one single in the last 12 months. No wonder he’s the most played country artist on mainstream radio and the number one independent artist in the country.

But he’s not one to rest on his laurels. Along with already announced appearances at the Gympie Music Muster and Savannah in the Round, Casey’s announced a stack more shows. He’s also bringing along some talented friends, including Josh Setterfield, The Buckleys, Rachael Fahim, and Taylor Moss. If you didn’t catch him last time he toured the country, or you’re just keen for another go round, here are all the dates you need.

19 June 2021 – Hamilton Hotel, Brisbane
25 June 2021 – The Red Hot Country Festival @ Nightquarter, Sunshine Coast
26 June 2021 – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast
3 July 2021 – Leichhardt Hotel, Rockhampton
9 July 2021 – Paddington RSL, Sydney
10 July 2021 – Country to the Coast Festival, Gosford
16 July 2021 – Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville
17 July 2021 – Edge Hill Tavern, Cairns
26 and 27 August 2021 – Gympie Music Muster, Gympie
1 October 2021 – Savannah in the Round, Mareeba
31 October 2021 – Goulburn Valley Country Music Festival, Shepparton

Image used with permission from Sue Mac Media

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Casey Barnes Releases Provocative Country-Pop Single, “Come Turn Me On”

Country darling Casey Barnes is dabbling in pop with his latest single “Come Turn Me On.” The country influence in the violin and steel guitar is unmistakable, but those catchy hooks and upbeat energy should give this track plenty of crossover appeal.

“I’d like to think that we’re trying to shape our own unique sound at the moment. I don’t really want to sound like anyone else,” Casey explained. “With this single, it has that blend of modern country meets commercial pop which I’ve really connected with over the last few years. The song is about a guy who’s basically travelled around the world, seen his fair share of girls but nothing compares to coming home to the one he loves.”

The clip is also Casey’s most ambitious.

“We’ve gone all out with this video and I think it’s easily the most expensive clip I’ve shot to date – but we wanted to make sure this one was pretty special,” he enthused. “My wife Michelle is a creative genius and the whole concept for this video has been her baby. Colin Jeffs from Ten of Swords Media has brought it to life. We found this incredible venue in Brisbane called Smoked Garage which is a multi-level event space where each floor has a completely different look to it, so it was the perfect place to shoot. The concept is that it’s one big party and everything has been made to look like it was shot in one take within the venue, culminating in a big high energy finale out in the side street at the end.”

Casey hasn’t let the global pandemic slow him down. His latest album Town Of a Million Dreams topped the country charts and earned him an ARIA nomination. This track’s already clocked up more than 100,000 Spotify streams just a couple of weeks after its release and been featured on the platform’s Fresh Country and New Music Fridays playlists. He’s also just announced a bunch of festival and headlining dates.

“I can’t wait to add ‘Come Turn Me On’ into the set for all our upcoming shows!” he said. “We’ve actually created a brand-new live show for 2021, and it’s great to finally see some major festivals and events coming back after the pandemic, which we’re thrilled to be playing at in the weeks and months to come.”

Check him Casey’s brand-new set at the following venues.

25 March 2021 – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne (18+)
27 March 2021 – Mathinna Country Club, Mathinna (18+)
10 April 2021 – Winton’s Way Out West Fest, Winton (ALL AGES)
24 April 2021 – Gippsland Country Music Festival, Mossvale Park (ALL AGES)
30 April 2021 – Highfields Tavern, Toowoomba (18+)
26 & 27 August 2021 – Gympie Music Muster (ALL AGES)
1 October 2021 – Savannah in the Round, Mareeba (ALL AGES)

Image used with permission from On the Map PR; credit: Luke Marsden

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Casey Barnes Releases Pop-Rock Gem

I like to think of the late 90s and early 2000s of the glory days of Aussie pop-rock. We produced so many quality acts like Invertigo, Taxiride, Vanessa Amorosi, and Bachelor Girl. It was a time when Australian musicians were mainstream, and that wasn’t a dirty word. The local music industry might have moved away from pop-rock, but when you hear the genre done well you stop and wonder why we don’t make more of this music.

I’m glad Casey Barnes is still flying the flag though. Every song he releases is excellent, and his newie “Just Like Magic” is no exception. It’s ridiculously catchy, perhaps because Casey collaborated with the MSquared Boys (Michael Paynter and Michael Delorenzis).

“The song touches on a guy’s complete and utter fascination with a girl who basically has him under her ‘spell’. I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that feeling!” Casey explained in a press release. “Writing and producing ‘Just Like Magic’ with Michael Paynter and Michael Delorenzis was such a great experience, and I think it shows in how the song turned out. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album … it gets people dancing.”

“Just Like Magic” is the latest track lifted from Casey’s current album Live as One.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Cavalcade of Stars Appear in Casey Barnes’ Music Video

Casey Barnes has enlisted plenty of star power for the music video for his latest single “Live as One.” Appearances from Erik Thompson, Pete Evans, Shane Heal, Greg Bird, Sally Pearson, Rob Mills, and heaps more have helped the clip go viral. But this clip has more than celebrities to endear itself.

With the Olympics winding down, we’re all thinking of the need to break down barriers and live harmoniously together, putting aside cultural and religious beliefs as well as other differences like sexual orientation, disabilities, and upbringings. It’s such a great positive message expressed beautifully by Casey and his cowriter Rick Price.

“Rick and I were both inspired to write ‘Live As One’ at the start of this year after feeling frustration at the constant fear filled messages and negativity we constantly see every day in the news and on social media, along with the mistakes we keep on making as a human race, over the history of time, with violence and hatred, which clearly isn’t the answer,” Casey explained. “My favourite lyric in the whole song is the opening line: ‘Angry words and a fist never healed no one’. I feel there’s never been a more important time to be spreading messages of hope and positivity, especially for our kids who are the next generation that have the ability to make change.”

“Live as One” is the title track from Casey’s new album, which drops on August 26.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Casey Barnes Releases Bluesy New Single “The One You Love”

If you were as big of an Australian Idol nut as me, you might remember Casey Barnes from season 7, the year Stan Walker took it out. He didn’t progress very far in the program, but he’s continued to hone his craft and work with top names in the music industry.

His latest single “The One You Love” sees him teaming up with producer Nick DiDia, who’s worked with local talents like Powderfinger and Kasey Chambers as well as international luminaries including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Rage Against the Machine.

“Working with Nick DiDia on this track has honestly been a dream come true especially when you stop and realise who he’s worked with over the years. We’re so blessed to have a producer like him in the country and he’s taken this song exactly where I wanted it to go,” Casey explained in a press release. “I really feel this is one of the strongest singles I’ve released to date. I can’t wait for you all to hear it now.”

I’ve heard a few of Casey’s post-Idol songs, and I agree with him that this is one of the best. It has such a cool bluesy vibe and really strong, sexy vocals.

Casey recently signed an exclusive worldwide management deal, so we’ll hopefully be seeing a lot more of him. Before world domination though, he’s playing the Perth Telethon next week, the Rural Weekly Pro Bull Riding Series Finals in Rockhampton on October 24, and supporting Rick Price at the Gold Coast Arts Centre on November 14.

Image used with permission from Arrow Entertainment

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Q & A with Casey Barnes

Often Australian Idol brings us bright new stars, who seem to fade from view almost as quickly as they appear. One artist determined not to be just a flash in the pan is Casey Barnes, who is carving out a credible career as a singer-songwriter. I caught up with Casey this morning to chat about his new EP Red Lion Motel, his experience on Australian Idol, and his surprising European club hit.

You’ve just released your new EP Red Lion Motel. What can you tell me about it?
It’s a five-track EP and I wanted to do something that was a little bit different. I’ve recorded a couple of albums in the past which have had more of that processed pop-rock vibe, and I wanted to release something a little bit raw and acoustic and real, so that’s what we came up with when we wrote this EP. But it’s all personal experiences, and each song’s a little bit different, but it’s come up really well.

What made you decide to take that back-to-basics approach on this one?
I think I just wanted it to go in a deliberate, different direction. I’d recorded a couple of albums previously and I was really happy with those, but a lot of my career has been spent playing solo, acoustic gigs. And I think I wanted to go back to acoustic, real rock, because there’s so much stuff out there that’s that processed sound. Anyone can be put in a studio and sound good. And I just wanted to do something that sounded like every instrument was recorded live, which it was, and that was just that real, acoustic sound. So that’s sort of why we decided to go in that direction.

Most Aussies probably know you from your time on Australian Idol last year. How do you feel about that experience looking back?
I think overall it was a great experience, and I got a lot out of it as a performer and especially the exposure from the show that it gives you. People obviously get to know who you are a lot more than when you’re slogging your guts out in pubs every week, trying to do it on your own. I think overall it was a positive experience. Some of it I didn’t really like. I would have liked to have been able to perform my own songs, because as you see every week you’re up there performing somebody else’s songs. And knowing that I’m a singer-songwriter and I’ve got my own material, it’d be great if there was an opportunity to play your own stuff out there. But I think overall it was definitely a worthwhile experience.

Continue reading “Q & A with Casey Barnes” →

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

New Song Obsession: “I Promise” by Casey Barnes

Casey Barnes didn’t quite find his feet during his stint on the last series of Australian Idol, but there was something incredibly likable about this guy. So I was thrilled to see Casey pop up on Video Hits yesterday with the film clip for his new single “I Promise.” While I found him a bit imitative on his show, here he’s found his own voice. This is just the sort of mellow guitar driven music that I love, and I can’t wait to hear more of it. The track comes from Casey’s EP Red Lion Motel, which is available now through iTunes and Casey Barnes’ website.