Emerging artists from across the region took to the stage at the Griffith Regional Theatre on Sunday, 30 July 2023 for the eagerly anticipated Grass Roots Under 30’s Open Mic Competition.
Now in its fifth year and with 11 entrants, Grass Roots founder Ben Ceccato said he was pleased to see the event continue to grow.
Deserving winners were, Helaina Beltrame, who secured the Best Original Song category, earning a one-on-one mentoring session with a prominent musician, songwriter, or producer provided by SongMakers APRA AMCOS. Belle Madden claimed the ADITO Award, earning a paid performance opportunity for the opening set of A Day in the Orchard festival on Saturday, October 7 2023. Josh Campbell received the prestigious Judges’ Choice Award, along with a cash prize of $250.
“We want to support our local artists, because it is tough in the regions, so this event is a performance opportunity, a chance for young artists to come on a big stage, with a state-of-the-art sound system, lights and work with a professional sound engineer. They get to have this stage and perform their songs to an audience,” said Mr Ceccato.
With some remarkable talent on stage, choosing the prize winners was challenging. The artists showed off their skills to a crowd of over 80 people and Grass Roots judges Ben Ceccato, Luke Piccolo and Bonnie Owen.
Liam Corbett opened the event performing four instruments in his take on “You Can’t Stop The Beat” from the musical Hairspray. Then hip-hop artist A.D (Aduny Takele) took to the stage, followed by St Francis students Drew Browne and Josephine Furore who performed a cover of “Something In The Orange” by Zach Bryan.
Previous Grass Roots winner J.R.V.U (Jesse Aviu) performed two original songs, Lucy Cullen sang “Glitter in the Air” by Pink and “Andante, Andante” by ABBA, followed by Alex PIETRO (Alex Pietroboni), another previous Grass Roots winner, who showed off his skills with two original songs. Singer and guitarist Josh Campbell, also known as The Half Empty, from Albury along with bass player Dale Dunlop performed two impressive original works.
Helaina Beltrame performed a cover of “Uncle Remus” by Frank Zappa and then sang an original song with J.R.V.U accompanying on guitar. Pianist Leo Forner played two beautiful pieces “Misty” by Errol Garner and Chopin’s Nocturne no. 20 (Lento con gran espressione), and Viviana Degenkamp performed Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and Adele’s “Hometown Glory”. Belle Madden, originally from Narrabri, closed the competition with covers of “Drivers License” by Olivia Rodrigo and “Missing Me” by Angie McMahon.
Griffith Regional Theatre Manager, Marg Andreazza, said with so much talent on stage the future of music and performing in this region was in good hands.
“We will continue to support local artists with events like Grass Roots and facilitate not only a performance space, but also workshops and performance opportunities for emerging artists in our community. We can’t wait to see where these performers end up – hopefully back on our stage in the future,” she said.
All contestants received a ticket to A Day in the Orchard (ADITO) festival at Piccolo Family Farm.
Mr Ceccato concluded, “This year was another resounding success, I am so proud of everyone involved and I’d also like to thank the audience who came out to support the entrants. Everyone was brilliant and I can’t wait for the next one.”
Grass Roots is presented by Griffith Regional Theatre. Supported by Piccolo Family Farm through A Day in the Orchard Music Festival and SongMakers APRA AMCOS.
