Jem Cassar-Daley to open for her father Troy at Club Mudgee

Already an accomplished singer, pianist and musical theatre performer, Jem completed her schooling at the end of 2018 and is taking a gap year in 2019.

And while performing her first ever professional live performances on a national tour is a significant leap, she said she has the right touring companion.

"It is a pretty big step because I was only used to school performances, musicals and small gigs," she said.

"But it makes me a lot more comfortable being with Dad and being able to perform with a close family member.

"In between gigs you get time to sit down and really work on your set, which really makes you take pride in the intricate details of what you're playing and helped me to establish my live playing skills as well.

"And being able to see the different places that I've never been before and meeting new people has definitely been a big inspiration for songwriting so far."

Jem is a recent graduate of the Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) Academy of Country Music in Tamworth and was a participant in the Seniors course held in January 2019 and graduated during the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

And growing up in the Cassar-Daley household there was more than a bit of Country influence, but her inspirations go beyond the genre.

"I definitely grew up listening to a lot of Country with Dad, but I have a lot of my own influences as well, I'm a big fan of Norah Jones and I love Missy Higgins and there are a lot of artists that I've taken to and have inspired me in my own music particularly as a piano player," she said.

"I've always had a passion for music since I was a kid and having a jam with the family was just the norm. I would absolutely love to make it into a career, but I'll always know that it'll be a part of my life."

Jem said that touring now - as oppose to travelling around with her father before - "isn't just watching from the side anymore, I have my own little set up the front". And that it's given her a new perspective on her dad's catalogue of music. 

"I'll be performing a lot of songs that have inspired me as an artist and a person, things that I've grown up listening to, and Dad and I will play a few songs together that are our favourites," she said.

"It's funny because there's a lot of songs that he's played that I've never heard before, so it's amazing for him to compile them from all of these albums and there's ones that as his daughter I'll ask 'is this you?'"