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Country music star Troy Cassar-Daley returns to the Bendigo stage in May with his Freedom Ride tour.
The Golden Guitar-winning artist visited the region in March, performing on the set of the WIN network's Today Show, which broadcast from Bendigo's Rosalind Park.
But on May 7, he will take to The Capital stage, a place he is no stranger to.
"I’ve always loved [The Capital], always loved the feeling here," he said on his visit.
"I reckon there’s a bit of a presence in this beautiful old place."
Freedom Ride is Cassar-Daley's ninth solo studio album and was released in March this year.
“I’m very proud of this record, I mean everyone’s proud of their latest thing they release but this has taken two years to build it," he said.
"It’s 12 songs, 12 important stories to me. There are people’s lives documented in three and a half, four minutes and they’re all quite different stories."
One such story is This Old Hat, which was co-written with comedian and bluegrass musician Pete Denahy at Cassar-Daley's Queensland farm.
"My old granddad’s hat was just sitting there... so we decided we’d start writing a song about it," Cassar-Daley said.
"It was just nice to be able to have inspiration right at your feet, you don’t even realise it’s there until you put a magnifying glass on it."
It's a thought that echoes through a lot of Cassar-Daley's work.
"When I first wrote [Freedom Ride] I wanted to take people on a journey around with us when we tour because sometimes when I pull up I just wish I had more people with me to be able to see it.
"Because you can’t capture it in a photo.
"We’re fortunate to do this for a job, I feel like a paid tourist sometimes."
Before Freedom Ride reaches Bendigo, Cassar-Daley will take to the stage in a number of country towns, including Swan Hill on April 30.
"When you make a new record it’s very exciting to be touring it as well," he said.
"I love taking music out to the regions and I hope people appreciate it as much as we appreciate them coming to the shows."
Pete Denahy will open the May 7 show and Cassar-Daley says there won’t be a stack of new songs to scare people away.
"We’re doing a real good collection of the songs we’ve had out over the last nine albums but there’ll be a sprinkling of some new stuff," he said.
"I just want people to come along and feel like they escape for a couple of hours, because that’s what I do on stage."
Troy Cassar-Daley performs at The Capital on Thursday, May 7, with special guest Pete Denahy.
For tickets, visit www.thecapital.com.au or call The Capital on 5434 6100.