Young musicians from throughout Otago took to the Kavanagh College auditorium stage last night to vie for the regional Rockshop Bandquest title.
Bands made up of primary and intermediate school pupils performed original and cover songs in front of an enthusiastic crowd of about 80 people.
The young musicians covered songs ranging from Bob Marley’s Don’t Worry About a Thing to The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.
Polite toe-tapping was replaced by a mosh pit of about 30 children within 20 minutes of the competition starting.
Rock star persona was also a feature of many performances, with one frontman encouraging the crowd to "come on, put your hands in the air" and forgotten lines masked by appropriately blase rock star-esque mumbles.
Rockshop Bandquest Otago organiser Glenn Commonsaid he was impressed with the calibre of the bands.
The event was about encouraging people to watch live music as much as it was about fostering a new generation of musicians, Mr Common said.
"What we think is equally important in this day and age where Youtube rules is reminding people that live music is an extra special thing."
The Damp Tea Towels, from John McGlashan College, won the competition.
The band members, who performed two cover songs, had a quick name change prior to the competition when they collected T-shirts with their band name on them only to discover an "s" had been added to the name.
The band received a $400 Rockshop voucher to be given to the school’s music department.
Bathgate Park School band All Stars came second and Straight Outta Six, from John McGlashan College came third, Mr Common said.
The Damp Tea Towels would submit a music video next month for judging in the national heat of the competition.
The national winner would have their song recorded in a music studio.
