Groundwater Country Music Festival 2025: Troy Cassar-Daley hails Gold Coast event as ‘amazing’
The Gold Coast's premier country music festival has shattered attendance records as tens of thousands of fans descended on Broadbeach for the star-studded event. SEE THE GALLERY
Country music icon Troy Cassar-Daley led a stellar line-up at the Groundwater Music Festival, praising the event’s “amazing” atmosphere as tens of thousands flocked to Broadbeach for the 2025 edition.
“To be closing at the show is amazing and to be able to see Surf Pde full after so many years has been fantastic,” he said.
“I’ve loved being able to walk around with a cap on, almost incognito – I feel like a bit of a local.”
The singer songwriter wrapped up the 12th edition of Groundwater on Sunday which saw tens of thousands of country music fans flock to Broadbeach over the course of three days.
The country music icon and 45-time Golden Guitar winner said the highlight of the event was the ability to “cross-pollinate” with the next generation of country music stars.
“I love the cross-pollination of the next gen,” he said.
“Being able to jump up with Duncan Toombs on Saturday while the storm was on was such a great event to be part of.”
Experience Gold Coast executive director Avril Harris said organisers anticipate this year’s numbers had surpassed those of 2024.
“The streets and parks of Broadbeach have been absolutely bustling, with so many visitors here on the Gold Coast,” she said.
“We’re expecting more than 60,000 people turned out across the three days of the festival, surpassing last year’s attendance.
“We’re thrilled with the figures, and even more so to see so many people enjoying great country music in our city.”
Perth-based musician Claudia Tripp, who played a trio of sets – her first time playing on the Gold Coast – told this masthead she had been charmed by the Glitter Strip and hoped to be invited back for a future edition of the festival.
She attributed country music’s recent cultural renaissance to its increasing ability to speak to non-traditional fans.
“Country’s kind of branched out into pop and rock but no matter what, it’s got that soul of storytelling and I think people really connect with that no matter what kind of genre they like,” Ms Tripp said.
Among the crowd for Tripp’s Sunday set were Brisbane linedancers Amy Davis and Jasmine Clark, who first took up the hobby a year ago and have since become regulars on the southeast Queensland circuit.
“We had friends who did it, we thought, let’s go try it out, and it became an obsession,” Ms Davis said.
“A lot of the artists [here at Groundwater] we have learnt dances to.”
Ms Davis said she and Ms Clark were impressed with the quality of linedancing at Groundwater, particularly as Chris Watson’s Beachside Line Dancing was split into beginners and experienced events, the latter allowing seasoned pros like Ms Davis and Ms Clark to request their own songs.
At Kurrawa Park, Varsity Lakes mum Ashleigh Collins was soaking in the sunshine with her kids Liberty and Caius.
Ms Collins said Groundwater wasn’t on the family’s radar until last week, when Caius pointed out a sign plugging the event.
The Collins clan hadn’t previously been hugely into country music but were “getting more that way inclined”, particularly after a recent family trip to North America, where they attended Canada’s famous Calgary Stampede.
Nearby, New Zealand holiday-maker Brooke Thompson was earning rave reviews for her faux cowhide pants while waiting for an ice cream cup to beat the heat.
She said she had been lapping up the Gold Coast culture – “trams are new for me” – and that she and friend Maddy Pittar, who emigrated in February, settling at Chevron Island, had spent the past two days at Groundwater.
“We were here last night [Saturday] having a bit of a boogie. I tried to do some line dancing but I wasn’t very good.”
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