James McDougall and Lachlan Murphy have wowed judges during the regional finals to move through to the grand final.

In the final the duo will take on nine Victorian bands for the prestigious prize which includes a recording session and marketing and publicity support.

McDougall said considering the tough competition, the win was unexpected and had given the pair confidence.

“After watching all the individually awesome and unique bands, we did not expect to come out on top,” he said.

“There were really diverse bands and it felt like it would be impossible to separate all of us and find a winner. It definitely showcased how passionate and talented the regional music scene is. Playing against awesome bands from places that we’ve never even heard of was really cool.

“The realisation that we were heading to Moomba Festival for the grand final has only just started to kick in, but it makes us feel that the band is definitely worth the hard work that we put into it.”

In preparation for the final, the pair will perform at Karova Lounge on Friday night in the hope of getting an edge on the competition.

“We are treating the headline at Karova as our big warm-up show for the grand final. As we’re only allowed a 20-minute set at the grand final, our headline will really give us an opportunity to smash out as many of our songs as possible and get an idea of the songs we should cram into our 20-minute set,” Murphy said.

“We’ve organised for some quality Melbourne bands to come up and play on the night and we’re heavily promoting it so that we can get a good confidence boost from our friends, family and localfans who want to wish us well before the final.”

No matter what the result the duo is thankful for the experience – although a win would make their day.

“It would be incredible to win. It would be amazing to come out on top and receive all the great prizes that would give us a handy push start into the music industry,” Murphy said.

FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands will be held on Saturday, March 7, at the 2015 Moomba Festival.