Smokefreerockquest finalists named

Smokefreerockquest finalist Back to the Remedy from Wairarapa. Photo / Supplied

Eight bands were named today as finalists in this year's Smokefreerockquest.

This year's contest had 3000 entrants, 23 regional finals and a record 800 bands, with the eight finalists covering a range of musical genres and a regional spread across New Zealand.

The national final will be held at Hamilton's Founders Theatre on September 11.

Two Waikato bands feature in the top eight, Dinosaur Goes Rawr (DGR) and The Good Fun, who will play off for the national title against Custard Bear from Canterbury, the Peasants of Eden from Nelson, Te Paamu from Otaki, two Auckland singer songwriters, Kriston Batistich and Massad Barakat-Devine, and Bay of Plenty four piece Malcolm Jack.

The eight finalists were selected from a short list of 22 bands that director Glenn Common said had all reached a very high standard. The others on shortlist were: A New Era - Bay of Plenty; Chelsey - Otaki; Convicted Spacemen - Manawatu; DikDarCity - Hawke's Bay; Holy Shark - Northland; Jayme Fitzgerald - Rotorua; Jordan Skipper - Marlborough; Peachebones - Canterbury; Saturday Sessions - East Auckland; The Guest - Canterbury; The Velvet Regime - Wellington; Vice Versa - Wanganui; Mercury Brigade - Wanaka; Back to the Remedy - Wairarapa.

- NZPA