Last week, we, Sidetracked, had the amazing opportunity to compete at Smokefree Rockquest National Finals 2026 alongside 7 of New Zealandโs best up-and-coming young bands. This yearโs National Final was the first to be held in Wellington since 2005. Travelling to such a cool city like Wellington together as a band was an adventure in itself, and a great start to an unforgettable few days.
The build-up to this event was just as exciting; we competed in Auckland Central Regional Heats and Regional Finals, winning 2nd place and โBest Songโ for our song โI Like Youโ, as well as the chance to enter National Final Submissions. We submitted three songs for video submissions: โI Like You,โ โLifesaver,โ and โThe Way You Do It.โ And around the same time, we were writing a new original song, Tilt, which we would later perform at the National Finals in Wellington.
We headed down on the Wednesday, finding accommodation with family and friends in the city. We joined the other bands on Thursday morning for a briefing on how the next two days would work. The day kicked off with a tour of local venues around Wellington city, visiting iconic venues like Valhalla, Meow-nui, and San Fran.
We spent the rest of the day attending workshops run by Massey University, learning about songwriting techniques and tips and tricks for running gigs/events. That evening we attended the Smokefree Rockquest Solo/Duo National Final, supporting awesome solo artists from around the country. This was a great opportunity to experience a different side of the competition, and cheer on the other artists that had come down from Auckland as well.
Friday morning came earlier than we all expected. All of a sudden, after spending a day enjoying workshops and events with the other bands, the reality of performing at Rockquest Nationals started to sink in. It all became a lot more real, and we started preparing for the performance that night.
We met together at the Great Hall on Friday morning, ready to play on the biggest stage weโve ever performed on. The day was a whirlwind of stuff to do as we had a packed schedule. We had photoshoots, media training, and met with industry experts to learn a bit more about effective networking. There was plenty to keep us busy, including soundchecking to ensure the night ran smoothly.
When it was time for the event to begin, there was definitely a good amount of nerves and excitement in the air. When our turn to perform came, we made sure to enjoy ourselves on stage and make the most of the opportunity to play our own music on such a huge platform like Rockquest. It was so cool to know we had family and friends watching from the audience and over the livestream. We are all so proud of how we performed, and we know itโll be one of those experiences that we will look back on for years to come.
After coming off stage, we were immediately chucked into an interview with Evie Bamford, only to realise afterwards that it had been live and the entire crowd and livestream had been watching it! We soon got back into the crowd to cheer on the other bands. The rest of the night flew by, and soon enough, we had guest band Borderline performing as the judges deliberated. We loved watching the other finalists perform, each showcasing different kinds of music. Knowing that every other band on that stage had worked just as hard as we did to get there made it so amazing to see it all come together.
During the awards, we were very proud when our vocalist, Ruby Murphy, took out the โBest Vocalsโ award. We also won โBest Songโ for โI Like Youโ, with the amazing prize of having the song professionally recorded and produced by Rockquest. This is such an incredible prize, and we canโt wait to release our music in the near future.
The Smokefree Rockquest National Final was such an unforgettable experience for us. We learned a lot and met so many great people that we hope to connect with again in the future. After performing on a stage like this, we came away with so much more than just the awards. Weโre so grateful for the opportunity, so proud of what weโve achieved, and very excited to see what comes next.
