Tumut songwriter Rory Phillips, 15, finalist in Environmental Music Prize, up against Paul Kelly, Lime Cordiale, and Eskimo Joe

Three years ago, the talented musician co-wrote The Truth, a song influenced by 2018's growing environmental movement led by young activist Greta Thunberg.

Earlier this year, Rory, now 15, and his mum came across the UN Climate Summit, Environmental Music Prize and "knew" that the song would be a good fit for the competition.

The $20,000 prize, established as a means of amplifying the voices of environmentally conscious artists, attracted more than 200 entries of which 24 finalists were chosen from.

In other news:

Big-name artists such as Paul Kelly, Lime Cordiale, Briggs & Tim Minchin, Eskimo Joe and Holy Holy were all listed as finalists - but so too was Rory.

"I sort of look at it, and I pinch myself a bit," he said

"I don't know that I'm deserving, but clearly somebody thought I was because I'm on there."

Brought up in a house surrounded by music lovers, Rory first picked up a guitar when he was five and began songwriting while still in primary school.

Having also grown up admiring artists such as Paul Kelly - now competing against him for a music award without having yet graduated high school feels only like a dream.

"Just to be mentioned in the same breath as a lot of those people is enough for me," he said.

"But if I do [win], it'd be amazing... there's $20,000 on the line and I'm sure that would buy me a very nice guitar."

Peer and friend of Rory's, William Crighton, has also been named as a finalist - making that two Riverina talents in the running for the prize.

For the Tumut teen, he is simply proud to be representing the region and proving that coming from a rural town should not dampen ones' ambitions.

"Make no mistake, it's so dominated by footy culture, this town," he said.

"It's good to see somebody in the arts, especially from this town, make a career out of it."

To help Rory Phillips bring home the UN Climate Summit, Environmental Music Prize, you can vote for him at https://environmentalmusicprize.com/songs/the-truth-rory-phillips/.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: