Smokefreerockquest Nelson heats coming up

Smokefreerockquest Nelson heats coming up on Saturday 16 May

Escape Artists and Toxic Vain are just a couple of the imaginative names that high school bands from Nelson have come up with for this year’s Smokefreerockquest as they gear up for the regional heats at Theatre Royal on Saturday night (May 16).

The Nelson bands and solo/duos are among 3000 young people that will compete over the next three months in 24 towns from Invercargill to Kerikeri in New Zealand’s only nationwide, live, all original, youth music competition.
The event has an impressive track record of Kiwi music successes, most recently, Broods, who were in the winning 2011 band, The Peasants. However, the event is much more about the experience of particpation, than winning the top prizes.

Carlos McQuillan from last year’s national winning band, Wellington dub-roots four piece Head Chef, says being on stage performing your own music is one of the best things you can do as a musician: “Even if you don’t make the national final, entering SFRQ is a great thing to do because you get to perform with other kids doing the thing they love, just like you, writing and performing music, and you can learn so much from just watching everyone around you.”

Solo-duo section national winner Georgia Lines says she learnt that success is not just about having a great song: “It’s the whole package – it’s about what you say, what you wear, the style of music you play, the angle of the keyboard… everything has to be thought through because it all adds to being memorable.”

The Nelson heats are at the Theatre Royal on Saturday, 16 May at 6pm, tickets $10 at the door.
The solo/duo performers starting at 6pm are:
James Lai Nelson College
Gemma Christall Nelson College For Girls
Liam Poole Nayland College
Georgie Merry Nelson College For Girls
Franc Nelson College For Girls
Daisy Penfold Waimea College
Zi shaw Nelson College For Girls
Fletcher Dawson Nelson College
Club of one Nelson College For Girls
Tegen Waimea College
The Gibson Girls Murchison Area School
Jake WIlls Nelson College
Maia Holmes Waimea College
Corrupt Innocence Garin College
Indigo Levett Nayland College
Brooke Carey Motueka High School
Aidamay Nayland College
Ash Derecourt Nelson College For Girls
The bands performing at 7.30pm are:
Equilibrium Waimea College
Coastal Nelson College For Girls
Escape Artists Waimea College
Turgid Nayland College
UnKnown Waimea College
Rictorscale Motueka High School
Quantum Shadow Waimea College
Rekindled Pursuit Motueka High School
Toxic Vain Waimea College
Vanguard Garin College, Nelson College, Nayland College
Nocturnal Avenue Waimea College
ITELO Nelson College
DEMM Waimea College
Tetra Nelson College For Girls
Goldthorpe Waimea College
Lateral Garin College

The top 10 bands and two solo/duos are selected at the heats to play off at the Nelson regional final at Theatre Royal on Friday 22 May, 7pm, tickets are $10 school students and $20 adults from TicketDirect or at the door. At the regional final the top two solo/duos will play off for first and second place, and both go into judging pool for the national final, along with the top two bands.

The regional events run until 2 July, then the top regional bands and solo/duos submit video footage for selection as one of six bands and three solo/duos to play off at the national final at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre in Auckland on Friday 11 September.

Smokefreerockquest, powered by Rockshop, has national winners’ prize packages for bands and the solo/duo winners that include $22,000 in Rockshop vouchers, a $20,000 NZ On Air recording, video and promo package’ a ‘Decent Exposure’ campaign on FOUR, a photo shoot with Thievery Studio, a branding package from Imaginary Friends and the Unleashed Travel ambassador award – a seven day trip to Fiji.

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. The People’s Choice award is voted by text, with the opportunity to open the Smokefreerockquest national final.
More information at sfrq.co.nz or facebook.com/thesfrq

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