Open Mic Competition Spotlights Rising Local Talent

If you were not at Griffith Regional Theatre on Sunday, July 30 you missed a fantastic night.

It is almost unbelievable just how much musical talent there is to be found in this city.

Emerging artists from across the region took to the stage for the eagerly anticipated Grass Roots Under 30s Open Mic Competition.

The competition, now in its fifth year showcased the talents of 11 entrants this year.

Helaina Beltrame secured the Best Original Song win, earning a one-on-one mentoring session with a prominent musician, songwriter or producer provided by SongMakers APRA AMCOS.

The ADITO Award went to Belle Madden, winning her a paid performance opportunity for the opening set at A Day in the Orchard festival on Saturday, October 7.

Josh Campbell went home with a cash prize of $250 after winning the prestigious Judges’ Choice Award.

Grass Roots founder Ben Ceccato said he was pleased to see the event continuing to grow.

“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,” Mr Ceccato said. “They get to have this stage and perform their songs to an audience.”

Judges acknowledged that choosing the prize winners was a challenge with so much remarkable talent on stage.

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, while Lucy Cullen sang “Glitter in the Air” by Pink and “Andante, Andante” by ABBA.

Alex PIETRO (Alex Pietroboni), another previous Grass Roots winner, showed off his skills with two original songs.

Singer and guitarist Josh Campbell, also known as The Half Empty, from Albury accompanied by 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 her 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,” Mrs Andreazza said.

“We can’t wait to see where these performers end up – hopefully back on our stage in the future.”

All contestants received a ticket to A Day in the Orchard (ADITO) festival at Piccolo Family Farm.

Mr Ceccato proclaimed this year 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,” Mr Ceccato said.

“Everyone was brilliant and I can’t wait for the next one.”

• Topics:

• Performing Arts