Budding musicians from Mount Aspiring College (MAC) will battle it out against students from nearby schools at tomorrow’s (Saturday June 17) Central Otago Smokefree Rockquest regional final in Wānaka. 

Smokefree Rockquest is an annual music competition for intermediate and high school bands throughout New Zealand.

MAC head of music Mat Doyle said there are ten bands and two solo acts from the school who will be performing at tomorrow night’s event, which gives the public the chance to check out some of the town’s youngest musical talent.

Each act will perform two original songs and at the end of the night professional judges will select the top-two bands and top-two solo or duo acts who will get the chance to make a video submission and be considered for national top 30 spots.

Mat said while Rockquest provided a chance for students to share original music and perform onstage, one of the most valuable things is the opportunity to meet other young musicians. 

“It’s a great chance to get in a room and perform with other schools from around the area,” he said. 

“It’s that kind of co-school camaraderie that I think is most valuable for them.”

 Another big plus is the chance to get feedback from industry professionals. 

Judges travel to Wānaka for the event and each act usually gets detailed feedback and advice. There are also a range of prizes for musicianship, lyric writing and a range of other things, Mat said.

The Smokefree Rockquest Central Otago regional finals will take place at the Lake Wānaka Centre on Saturday June 17 from 7pm. Tickets are available on the door or online.

The MAC bands performing include Salty Vision (Max Byrne, Rowan Rosie, Tay Simpson, Tawa Wolfe), Day Glow (Portia Randall, Brooke Hutchison, Bianca James, Vanessa Vickers, Miki Bercelli), Feed The System (Toby Mills, Tommy Cotter, Archie Bruce), Parabola (Domenico Robinson, Abby Jago, Jayden Robertson), Octo Ring (Zara Weatherly, Axel Macdougall, Harrison Eastwood, Cormack Lee Smith), Wrinkly Sinks (Thomas Buick, Kobi Simmers, Kanuka Elms, Calum Martineau), Spoken (Matilda Metcalfe, Richard Denyer, Oscar Goodwin), Jibbitz (Jemma Brake, Anataia White, Melia Brett, Laura Watkins, Ella Miles), Mocka (Molly Wilson, Clarke West, Otis Murphy, Henry McConnell), Izzy and the Anchors (Izzy Foskett, Chloe Murray, Warisha Zahiraa, Lola Ritchie, Luke Gendall, Eliza Rowley), and solo acts Paige Gawn and Ruby Smith.

PHOTO: Derek Murphy