Bello Winter Music Fest Unveils Youth Mentorship Winners

Bello Winter Music Festival has announced the winners of its 2017 Youth Mentorship Program, giving budding young musicians the opportunity to learn from some of the country's finest established singer-songwriters.

Each of the four winning acts — who were selected by the general managers of both Bello Winter Music and Mullum Music festivals — will receive a rehearsal session with their mentor along with passes to the event, plus the chance to watch their mentor in action at the festival from the comfort of the backstage area and undertake a 20-minute performance spot of their own.

This year's winners include 12-year-old Yamba Ryan Kemp, who won the singer-songwriter category and will be mentored by respected troubadour Jack Carty; 14-year-old Bellingen muso Leah Besley, who took out the under-15s and will be guided by The Button Collective's Ben Wilson; 16-year-old Akashya Leopold, whose win in the vocal category has steered her to the care of Sara Tindley; and sibling duo Nadia & Paloma Birch, whose band category-winning effort will see festival faves Hussy Hicks take them under their wing.

"The Bello Youth Mentorship program is brilliant!" Dean Besley, of the Bellingen Youth Hub, said in a statement. "There’s great experience for our youth in applying, which is really easy to do, and the winners get to play in front of a real festival crowd, who just love it. Best of all, they get to meet, hang out and be mentored by some extraordinary performers. The benefits and impacts I have seen for our young people have been amazing."

If you want to see how it all plays out at the event, head to Bello Winter Music's website for playing times and ticketing details.

The festival itself, which is proudly presented by The Music, runs from 6-9 July throughout Bellingen.