Australian country rock musician Casey Barnes's passion for bull riding will see him perform at this year's Isa Rodeo.
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After contacting the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo Inc for several years, Barnes is finally fulfilling a dream performing at this year's rodeo on August 10.
"The Isa Rodeo is such an iconic event that I have wanted to be a part of for a while now," Barnes said.
"When I was approached to perform this year I was excited, it's something I am really looking forward to.
"I genuinely love bull riding and it's something I have been heavily involved with performing at PBR events over the last few years."
Barnes said this would be his first time performing in Mount Isa.
"I have been a full time artist now for 15 years and have done a lot of gigs in outback Queensland but this will be my first time performing in Mount Isa," he said.
"I am super excited to be performing with Lee Kernaghan in Mount Isa, he is a good friend of mine and we both live on the Gold Coast and run into each other from time to time.
"The whole line up this year is a ripper. John Farnham is a hero of mine, I've been listening to his stuff since I was a little kid, so I look forward to being a part of this year's entertainment."
After releasing his hit 'The Way We Ride', Barnes has been touring Australia and America performing at Professional Bull Riding (PBR) events.
"This particular song is a country-rock anthem and has resonated with many bull riders," he said.
"I've just come back from America doing a run of PBR events over there and we have just been invited to perform in Las Vegas for the PBR world finals.
"There is a lot of exciting stuff going on at the moment."
Barnes broke into the music industry 15 years ago after performing at corporate events for the Australian Wallabies Rugby team.
"Captain John Eales asked me to perform at these events," Barnes said.
"I got to know John reasonably well and at the end of the events I gave him a copy of my CD and said thanks for the opportunity.
"A week later he called me and said he was really impressed with the album and wanted to help me.
"I was later approached to open for Bryan Adams for A Day On The Green concert and that was the beginning of my career."
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