Leisl Parnell is a girl of many talents and Girgarre’s Showdown at the Soundshell music competition provided just another opportunity for her to show her wares.
Fresh from an appearance as the Fiddler in Shepparton Theatre Art Group’s performance of Fiddler on the Roof, she was on stage for the inaugural staging of the $1500 music competition for 12- to 18-year-olds on Sunday, November 19.
The teenager chose a song close to her heart, the theme from Super Mario, which allowed her to show her wares by playing a banjo, mandolin, violin and bass guitar — all in the space of a few minutes.
She was one of 19 acts to perform in front of hundreds of people who gathered on Sunday afternoon to support a variety of acts, which included solo performances by several singers, a band, identical twins performing a duet, a saxophonist and a pianist.
A big fan of video games, she chose the Nintendo game theme song to, in her own words, “geek out” to a tune she really loves.
The eclectic group of performers included several from the Goulburn Valley, including Shepparton pianist Vihaan Raykar and several Kyabram acts — including Jack Halstead, Sarah Mott and Ewan Walsh.
Indi Gilmore, who performed at last year’s Tastes & Tunes Festival as one of the headline acts, was the winner of the competition. She is a Dillmac Entertainment student and is bound for big things.
She tipped out Rochester student Imogen Anderson, who was competing alongside two other Campaspe-based musicians, Evie Scoble and Zack Wileman.