Picking up the guitar for the first time in almost a decade and stepping into the spotlight, Barrett's rise as a singer-songwriter has been swift.
“I've been a singer and songwriting since I was 16 but I gave it up when I was 19,” he said.
“And I hadn't played music until September last year, when I picked up my guitar again.
“I was extremely lucky that COVID restrictions were starting to ease, so I had a month and a half to get ready before places and live music started opening up again.”
Since then, the 27-year-old has been booking gigs left and right, including at St Kilda's Espy, and says the past six months have been "a wave that keeps getting bigger".
“From the little opportunities I got, to then get my Facebook page going and have it up over 3000 likes from just six-seven months,” he said.
“Someone then nominated me for Beef Week in Rockhampton; it was a nationwide competition I didn't even know about until they rang me and told me I won.
“I thought it was a hoax, but it turned out to be legitimate and ended up leading me to a fully paid trip there to play for Beef Week over four days for 150,000 people.
“The guys there, and a few other people, then sponsored me to record six of my originals for Spotify and iTunes.
“The amount of support I've gained, it's sort of snowballing.”
Moving to part-time work, Barrett, admittedly a mix of a Kip Moore and Chris Stapleton, is putting everything he has into his music career.
“Every gig I've done, how much I've evolved, from the start to now, it still blows my mind the feedback I get after shows,” he said.
And after making Echuca-Moama home over the past 12 months, Barrett continues to feature on the local stage, with a number of upcoming gigs including next month's Winter Blues Festival.
This week, the country artist will be taking up a different spot at his local, The Caledonian, when he performs a gig at the hotel on Saturday.
“I've been talking to Dave (Cunningham) on-and-off about possibly playing there,” Barrett said.
“Eventually he caved and I've already played one; this week will be my second and we've had some negotiations of ongoing gigs where I'll be the house musician.”
Barrett also has a gig lined up at 1895 The Royal on Friday night, giving locals plenty of chance to see the country singer on stage.
And as he continues to grow as an artist, Barrett is finding himself in transition as he hones in on the musician he wants to be.
“I've written some new songs in the last couple weeks, and I'm rebranding my set lists now, learning some new covers,” he said.
“It's an ever-evolving thing.”
Daniel Barrett will play at 1895 The Royal on Friday, June 18, before performing at The Caledonian on Saturday, June 19, from 7pm.
Find Daniel on Facebook by searching ‘Daniel Barrett’s Raw n Acoustic music’, or find his music on Spotify or iTunes under Daniel Barrett.
18°C