NZ’s answer to School of Rock
The up-and-coming young musicians of our region are getting ready to perform at the regional final of Smokefreerockquest. The annual event will happen this Friday in Wanaka and will showcase some of the phenomenal musical talent in the schools of our region.
The programme is in its thirty sixth year and includes events held in 21 regions across the country, playing host to thousands of young musicians each year. The rules of participation are simple; you must be a school-aged student. Entrants will get to perform their original music onstage with a full set up including lighting, a sound engineer, a projected backdrop and technical support.
The competition initially started as a radio station promotion in 1988 that was cancelled after one year. Pete Rainey and Glenn Common, two high school teachers from Christchurch, took it over as they saw the benefits in a platform for students. By 1990 the competition went nationwide, and it’s since helped to develop some great Kiwi bands.
“One of the early winners was a band called Kora,” says Glenn. “Well, they were called Aunty Beatrice then – they went on to become Kora and some of them are now in LAB, still doing quite a lot nationally. Alien Weaponry are a heavy metal band that sing in Te Reo. They were national winners in 2016 or so, and they’re doing a lot internationally – they’re a big band playing massive festivals.
“We have just over 3,000 performers a year at the moment, which after 35-odd years, we do have quite a long alumni list. It’s also nice to see that we have some second-generation performers coming through too.”
The event runs between Wanaka and Queenstown each year but features students from across the region. Otago was one of the first spots when the event went nationwide and now sits as one of the bigger regions on the tour. This year in addition to Queenstown and Wanaka students, Glenn says they’ve had some interest from Cromwell, and have seen students from Alexandra participate in the past.
The competition works in an elimination-style, so this first performance will showcase all the band’s performing in the regional final. From there, top performers in each category will be selected. They will need to submit video of themselves performing three of their best original songs and the top 30 will be selected. If artists make it down to the national finials, of which there are ten spots, they will head up to Auckland to perform.
“The performers here will go on and have great music careers. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to see them when they’re still in that formative stage – their enthusiasm is high, their skills are remarkable, and it’s a great chance to see what the community has,” says Glenn.
The Central Otago Smokefreerockquest will take place at Lake Wanaka Centre on Friday 17 June with the action kicking off at 7pm. Tickets will be available at the door or can be purchased at smokefreerockquest.co.nz
