Smokefree Rock Quest is the biggest live original music event for young musicians around Aotearoa. With a record number of entries this year, heats were held over two days.

Once again, Year 8 boys Sam O’K on bass and lead vocals, Mason G and Johnny S on guitar and Reef F on drums (former MPS student), entered their Band, Shards of Fire.

There was a very nervous wait for the boys as they sat watching other bands perform ahead of them. Eventually their name was called and they headed out backstage to get ready. They were the only intermediate aged group on the night but clearly showed their balanced and risk-taker learner profile attributes as they rocked it on stage.

The judges commented…

“Cool dynamics in the songwriting. Love the intro, cool moment. Really tight timing as a group. Cool tone for the lead vocalist and interesting delivery.
Love the moment with the two guitarists and the change in groove section towards the end. That was cool!
Overall for such a young band you gave a committed performance you should all be proud of. Please play more!”

If you’d like to see them in action you can watch the video here:

It was also wonderful to also see a number of past Mt Pleasant School students performing with their new high school bands. There are some very talented musicians out there!