Kuranui College students shook the Carterton Events Centre auditorium and came away with several top music awards at this year’s regional finals of Smokefree Rockquest.

This is a live, original music, youth event, that aims to motivate young musicians to prove their ability and realise the heights they can reach in their music careers. It also encourages their peers to support original New Zealand music and with three entries, Kuranui College gained a hat trick of awards.

Year 12 student Meg Hunter is an experienced soloist. As the previous winner of Rockquest Solo/Duos regional competition in 2020, and second place winner in 2019, this was not her first rodeo. Meg was also the Under 14 winner in Talent Wairarapa! Performing alone, with just her keyboard and a microphone, she did not fail to own the stage. Unsurprisingly, she went home with first place in the Solo/Duo category, as well as a spot in the upcoming national competition. Hunter is a huge fan of the annual event, “Rockquest is a great opportunity and an amazing experience!”.

Master Key is made up of Rowan Higgins, Adam Butler, Sasha Francis-Murray, Alex Hartley, and Amethyst Sutherland. The five-person band is characterized by their jazzy funk feel, and of course, their iconic saxophone duo. With most members being previous Smokefree Rockquest award winners, Master Key knew what to expect. They certainly brought an original sound, winning them second place in the Band category and a place at Nationals. The band’s bass player Amethyst Sutherland also won the Musicianship Award.

Rowan Higgins, who doubles up as Kuranui College Head Boy, really enjoyed the chance to play live given the musicians had to perform online last year because of Covid restrictions. “It gave us an opportunity to put ourselves out there with our own material and emotions in front of a live audience with great quality gear, the staff were really helpful and we had a blast.”

Kuranui’s up and coming punk band, FEEDBACK is a four-piece band that includes Sepp Bale, Coby Nielson, Josh Guild and John Abbaton. They performed two songs, ‘Not Normal’ and ‘Leave Us Alone’, which both perfectly encapsulated the sound of teen angst with a brilliant punk vibe. Watch out everyone, this band is only just beginning - they even made it to the finals of Talent Wairarapa!

Well done to everyone who participated, and good luck to those moving on to the national competition, we know you will nail it!

Article written by Year 13 student Emma Rose. Added: Thursday 17 June 2021