2014 Smokefreerockquest Top 30 Announced

2014 SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST - TOP 30 ANNOUNCED

8 August 2014

From Kerikeri to Invercargill they have strummed and sung their way towards stardom - and now the top 30 acts in Smokefreerockquest 2014 have been selected.

There were just on 700 entries in this year’s only nationwide, orginal youth music event, with contenders going forward from 23 regions to send in their DVDs for selection to play off at the national final in Auckland on September 27.

SFRQ founder and director Glenn Common said selecting the national finalists presented the usual challenge, with a very high level of expertise in all areas of musicality.

“What we see at this level highlights that there’s a lot more to Smokefreerockquest than just writing a song,” he said. “This event emphasises the whole package - songwriting, performance and presentation, which is realistic preparation for making a career in the music industry.”
Last year Smokefreerockquest introduced a separate category for solo-duo performers; and the top 30 list is made up of 20 bands and 10 solo-duos. The bands are:

Co-Lab, Whangarei Boys' High School &Kamo High School, Northland
The Paradise Stone, Rangitoto College, North Shore
Vivid, Diocesan School for Girls & Marist College, Auckland Central
Death By Butterflies, Rutherford College, West Auckland
North and South, Pukekohe High School, Manukau
The Bradas, Alfriston College , Manukau
All of a Kind, Putaruru College, Waikato
Sunday Best, St Peter's School, Waikato
Liquid Sun, Katikati College, Waihi College, Bay of Plenty
Joe’s Van, Mt Maunganui College, Bay of Plenty
The Crayz, Gisborne Boys' High School, East Coast
The Brothers Grimm, Napier Boys' High School, Hawkes Bay
Soda Boyz, Palmerston North Boys' High School &Freyberg High School, Manawatu
Vacant City, Wairarapa College & Rathkeale College, Wairarapa
HeadChef, Wellington High School & Com Ed Centre, Wellington & Hutt
Oh Blok, Garin College & Nelson College, Nelson
Aura, Hagley Community College, Canterbury
Bitter Class, Craighead Diocesan School & Geraldine High School, Timaru
Chandeliers, Otago Boys' High School, Otago
Oddity, Mt Aspiring College, Central Otago

And the top ten solo/duos are:
Just Grace, Wanganui High School, Whanganui
Elae, Garin College, Nelson
Jacob Morris, Christchurch Boys' High School, Canterbury
Liam Kennedy-Clark, Ashburton College, Canterbury
Christopher Bates, Kingsway School, Auckland
Cam Dawson, Manurewa High School, Auckland
Solomon Crook, St Peter's School, Waikato
Georgia Lines, Bethlehem College, Bay of Plenty
JARS, Rotorua Girls' High School, Rotorua
AdLib, Palmerston North Girls' & Boys High Schools, Manawatu

These 30 bands and solo-duos will be further narrowed down by a panel of judges from the music industry, and the final six bands and three solo-duos to play off in Auckland next month will be announced on August 15.

The national final of Smokefreerockquest is at Auckland’s Q Theatre on Saturday 27 September, start time 7pm, tickets on sale from Q Theatre from August 15. Guest acts to be announced. The event will be opened by the overall winner of the People’s Choice Award, with the voting taking place by text messages after the national finalists are announced.

Smokefreerockquest, powered by Rockshop, has national winners’ prize packages for bands and the solo/duos that include musical gear to a total value of $13,000 from NZ Rockshops and their suppliers, a $10,000 recoding/music video package from NZonAir, radio promotional support and video play on youth music channel FOUR. There is also the MAINZ (Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand) Scholarship for outstanding musicianship, the APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) Lyric Award, the Lowdown Best Song Award and the Smokefree Women’s Musicianship Award.

More info at sfrq.co.nz or facebook.com/thesfrq

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