Waikato Rockshop Bandquest 2014

Waikato Rockshop Bandquest 2014

11 August 2014

Media Release

They’re tuning up and practicing their songs in towns from North Shore to Stewart Island, as over 160 young school bands line up for this year’s Rockshop Bandquest, the nationwide music contest for intermediate and primary students.

Bandquest is in its fourth year as the younger sibling of Smokefreerockquest, and for kids of intermediate age there are plenty of role models to follow including international success story Broods and the Christchurch trip-hop duo Doprah.

Founder and director Glenn Common says the level of talent at intermediate schools has caught the attention of the music industry.

“Rockshop Bandquest is a vehicle to spotlight this talent - it certainly provides a platform for young bands to shine in a stage setting with professional sound mix and lighting,” he said. “But really what we’re about is giving the kids an experience that extends them, that puts them under the pressure that comes with live performance and the exhilaration that is its reward.”

The Waikato event is on Wednesday 20 August at Clarence Street Theatre, Hamilton at 7pm. Tickets are $10 at the door or through Ticketek.

The bands who have entered Rockshop Bandquest in Waikato are:

Kick Back Ohaupo School

Radioactive Hamilton West School

The Green Tweens Hilltop School

Lighthouse & The Rock Berry Marian School

FACD Te Pahu School

Summer Souls Te Pahu School

Phased Out Fairfield Intermediate

Eclipse Marian School

Bands who have yet to confirm their names include three from St Peter’s School, two from Berkley Middle School and one each from Stanley Ave School and Ohinewai School.

Common says the contest is for bands of two or more members, from intermediate or primary schools, who will play a short set of covers or original songs. There is an award for the best original song to encourage bands to write their own material, but the focus is on performance skills.

Rockshop donates prize vouchers to the winners’ schools, and spokesman, Hamish Jackson, says Bandquest is a great event for the nationwide chain to support.

“At a time where many countries are seeing a drop in kids learning instruments Bandquest is bucking the international trends,” he says. “The more we can get kids playing music through events like Bandquest, the better it is for the artistic health of New Zealand music.”

This year Rockshop Bandquest will be held in Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, Tauranga, Napier, Hamilton and Auckland, with online entries for bands in outlying areas.

There will be mentoring sessions from successful Smokefreerockquest bands in the afternoon of the regional events and an online national final announcement on Wednesday 24 Nov, via bandquest.co.nz.

Ends

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