Then, he turned to fixing things. He started with broken chairs and cracked pavement, and moved onto washing down his house.

Finally, he dragged himself out of a state of feeling "sorry for himself", and he began to make music once again.

"This year started out to be truly devastating for all of us, and to lose your purpose is something you don't take lightly. When you're a musician and that's all you do, it can be really heartbreaking," Troy told the Leader.

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"But then I looked at myself and thought ... we've got to get on with this." It was music that "saved" him.

Days blurred into weeks as Troy bunkered down in his home studio and honed his skills beyond incredible singing and songwriting talent.

"I turned my attention to my little studio, I have a little drum kit there and I went down and annoyed my neighbour for six months, learning drums and bass and creating songs again, and it ended up turning into an album," he laughed.

Touring artists are finally returning, and Troy said it was a "no-brainer" to take the stage in Tamworth.

Not only will he be here on November 28 for a show, he'll be joined by country music queen Kasey Chambers.

"I have had a lot of firsts in Tamworth - since I was like 12 years old when I first went up there - and this is like an amazing first for me that Kasey and I get to do a show together at the renowned town hall," Troy said.

"We won't be playing at the Tamworth festival this year, which is very heartbreaking for a lot of us, I thought the least we could do is put on a show for the local people in Tamworth and let them know we still love them and really admire what the town has given us over many, many years."

Troy promised the show would bring a little bit of fun for everyone who goes along.

"It'll be like a bit of a jam session, but that's what we've based our whole careers on, just showing our love for music and for country music," he said.

Kasey and Troy will play at the Tamworth Town Hall on November 28.