Elizabeth Vex and Kaylee Pachana, of Rockaway Township, and Sarah Kertesz, of the Green Pond community, students at Morris Knolls High School, are finalists in the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s (PDFNJ) New Jersey Shout Down Drugs competition.

Vex and Pachana, who together are called "Liz & Kaylee," and Kertesz are three of 38 students who will perform their original music and lyrics at the 11th annual New Jersey Shouts Down Drugs concert.

Liz & Kaylee’s original song, "Put It Away," and Kertesz’s original song, "Box of Pain," were selected out of entries submitted from high school students across New Jersey.

The New Jersey Shout Down Drugs music competition challenges high school students to create original music with lyrics that contain powerful peer-to-peer substance abuse prevention messages.

The finalists will be invited to perform at the competition which will be held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on Friday, April 17.

According to PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente, the finalists are selected through an online vote and judging panel and represent 14 New Jersey counties.

All of the finalists will compete for $10,000 in music contracts to perform their winning song at PDFNJ statewide events.

This year’s prevention concert is sponsored by the New Jersey Broadcasters Association, Comcast and 1450 WCTC Radio. The 2015 concert will be hosted by WCTC radio personality, Bert Baron. WCTC will also air a one-hour special on the New Jersey Shout Down Drugs after the prevention concert.

Shoutdowndrugs.com features profiles of this year’s finalists and allows the public to cast votes for their favorite songs. Online voting and ticket sales are open until Thursday, April 16. Tickets are free of charge, but must be reserved at shoutdowndrugs.com.