Single release: 'God Took His Time on You' by Casey Barnes

Gold Coast, Queensland/Yugambeh country artist Casey Barnes started this year with four Golden Guitar nominations for his second album, Town of a Million Dreams, which had also been nominated for an ARIA Award for Best Country Album, and kept the momentum going with the release of his single ‘Come Turn Me On’. Now Barnes is back with the heartfelt ‘God Took His Time on You’, which is a more reflective musical outing for this high-energy singer-songwriter. When asked if it was a conscious change of direction, Barnes says, ‘It’s funny … I’ve been sitting on this song now for nearly 12 months, waiting for the right time to release it, and it felt like now was that perfect time. It is a little different to a couple of my previous singles but I deliberately wanted to show a different side with this track and thankfully people seem to be connecting with it, which is great. I can’t remember ever having a response like this to a release so quickly, so I’m extremely grateful.’

The song was written by Barnes with Brown & Gray, a team who have written other songs with him for his upcoming album. When asked what he likes about co-writing, Barnes says, ‘I love so many things about co-writing. The fact that it gets you out of your comfort zone and brings in other ideas is such a positive thing. The guys from Brown & Gray have now become great friends and I think that chemistry between the 3 of us also helps too!’

Anyone who has seen Barnes play live knows what a dynamic performer he is and how great he is with a big stage and big crowd. But while parts of Australia are still locked down, with no live performance, Barnes lives in Queensland, so audiences have been able to see him play.

‘We’ve been extremely lucky – if you can say that,’ says Barnes, ‘being based in Queensland over the last couple of months in particular, being able to play quite a few shows and festivals. It really does nearly seem like we’re on another planet up here at the moment and I just feel for so many of my colleagues stuck down south who haven’t been able to work in months. It doesn’t feel right.’

Barnes has a few shows booked in for the rest of the year (see below) and is also working on that new album. Given how successful the last one was it would be understandable if he felt some pressure when creating this new work. ‘I think you always want to make sure your next album is a step up from the last one,’ he says, ‘so I’ve worked extremely hard over the last 12 to18 months, teaming up with some amazing songwriters and producers to put this next record together. I truly feel this is my best work to date and can’t wait to get it out there … hopefully at the start of 2022!’

https://www.caseybarnes.com.au