Of more than 1000 bands that competed in 2026 Smokefreerockquest heats up and down the country, only a handful made it through to the National Band Finals held in Wellington. Sidetracked was the only Auckland act among them. 

The five members of the west Auckland indie rock band met at Te Atatū Intermediate and went on to attend Rutherford College. Nurtured and supported by TatMuze, the band are coached at Lila School of Bands, playing alt-rock originals and covers.

Sidetracked features Ruby Murphy on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Tuva Botting on lead guitar. Jimmy Egginton on drums, Madi Mclellan on keys and Indi Botting on bass guitar and bvs. Madi Mclellan volunteered NZM this diary snapshot of their few days in the capital.

In September Sidetracked had the amazing opportunity to compete at Smokefree Rockquest National Finals 2026, alongside seven of Aotearoa’s best up-and-coming young bands. This year’s 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. Sidetracked competed in Auckland central regional heats and Regional Finals, winning second place and Best Song for our song I Like You, as well as the chance to enter online submissions for the national finals.

We submitted three songs with video submissions; I Like You, Lifesaver and The Way You Do It. Around the same time we were writing a new original song, Tilt, which we would later perform in Wellington.

With the event scheduled on Friday 18 September we headed south 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 the city, visiting iconic venues like Valhalla, Meow-nui, and San Fran. 

We spent the rest of Thursday attending workshops run by Massey University, learning songwriting techniques and tips and tricks for running gigs and events. That evening we attended the Smokefree Rockquest Solo/Duo National Final, supporting awesome solo artists from around the country. It was a great opportunity to experience a different side of the competition, and cheer on the finalists who 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 all met together at Massey’s Great Hall in morning, ready to play on the biggest stage we’ve ever performed on. The day was a whirlwind with a packed schedule of stuff to do. 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 sound checking to ensure the night would run smoothly. 

By the time the event began 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.

It was so cool to know we had family and friends watching from the audience and over the Rockquest livestream. We are all so proud of how we performed, and we know it’ll be one of those experiences that we will look back on for years to come. 

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 and the rest of the night flew by. 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. 

Soon enough, we had guest band Borderline performing as the judges deliberated. Sidetracked missed out on the big prize, but we were very proud that our vocalist Ruby Murphy took out the Best Vocals award. We also won Best Song for I Like You, with the amazing prize of having the song professionally recorded and produced by Rockquest. This is such an incredible prize, and we can’t 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 we hope to connect with again in the future. Performing on a stage like that we came away with so much more than just the awards. We’re so grateful for the opportunity, so proud of what we’ve achieved, and very excited to see what comes next.