The 5th Grass Roots competition blew audiences away with the wide range of talent on display

Griffith's premiere open mic and talent competition, Grass Roots returned for 2023 on July 30 - with eleven musicians under 30 taking on the challenge and performing in front of a crowd.

The show began with Liam Corbett bringing the jazz with a multi-instrument brass performance before Aduny Takele showcased an original rap.

Followup performances stunned with piano recitals, original songs and amazing covers - including a powerful performance by Viviana Degenkamp of Dolly Parton's "Jolene."

Judges Ben Ceccato, Bonnie Owen and Luke Piccolo said that judging had never been harder.

"That was stupidly hard ... today we got to see a snippet of the talent we have in this town. I was blown away by the amount of original music as well," Mr Ceccato said.

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Ultimately, there were only three prizes to give away. Guitarist and singer Belle Madden took out the 'Day in the Orchard' prize for her talent - awarding her a paid spot opening the Day in the Orchard festival in October.

Helaina Beltrame won the coveted 'Best Original Song' prize, which will partner her with a producer for a mentorship, while the Judges Choice award of $250 went to indie rocker Josh Campbell and his bassist Dale Dunlop.

"You get this sense of how good everyone is. If any of these people won, I'd be so stoked," said Ms Madden.

"It's so exciting. I've been a longtime festival-goer, but never a performer ... I feel very blessed and lucky."

Mr Campbell joked that his prize money would go to a 'night out at an Italian restaurant and a few good wines' but said that in seriousness, it would likely go to refining his craft - whether that be equipment or more workshops.

Ms Beltrame said that she would recommend the competition to any young musicians.

"It's been such a rewarding day. You come and get to see and meet everyone else," she said.

"I think things like this makes music and arts feel more possible in Griffith ... You should still come to this and the workshops, no matter what level you're at."

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