Singers take country to the city at

Maddison Connor and Zac Griffith's passion for country music propelled them to a Smokefree Rockquest title last September. They explain to Adrienne Matthews why this is just the beginning.

Established in Christchurch in 1989 by high school teachers Pete Rainey and Glen Common, Smokefree Rockquest has been encouraging New Zealand’s high school students to showcase their talents in song writing and performance ever since. In 1990 it became an annual national competition which has proven to be a springboard to further musical success for many participants who have gone on to develop their own dynamic musical careers. Think Anika Moa, Brooke Fraser, Kimbra, Evermore, L.A.B and Julia Deans to name a few, along with Nelson’s own Georgia and Caleb Nott of Broods.

Thanks to Covid, Smokefree Rockquest had to take a break for two years but it has just graced the country’s stages again with forty gigs throughout New Zealand to select regional winners to compete in the national finals. For the third time since 2010, Nelson has beaten entrants from schools throughout the country and produced the national winners in the Solo/Duo category, Zac Griffith (17) from Garin College and Maddison Connor (14) from Waimea College who performed together. Initially Maddison was preparing to sing with someone else. “That fell through and I was suddenly put up to the test,” laughs Zac. “I thought it’s my last year of school. I’ll give it a go. There was nothing to lose.” “The night before the regional competition we hadn’t even finished the first song,” says Maddison, “but somehow we got through and went on to win the regional final.” That success meant the duo had to travel to Auckland to compete in the finals. Despite looking remarkably comfortable performing onstage, there were nerves underneath.

Tessa Jaine

“It was quite intimidating being in that professional environment,” says Maddison. “I was more nervous of the social aspect of it,” says Zac, “although I soon realised it was very comforting being around so many like-minded people. We were all there for the one thing; to play music and enjoy the process. It was a very cool experience and it would be great to do it all again, but having finished school now I am no longer eligible.” “I would really encourage others to have a go,” he continues. “It doesn’t matter how far you get. It doesn’t matter if you win or you don’t get through the regionals. As long as you get up on stage and have a good time and do your thing and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.” The pair have very supportive families. Maddison was surrounded by music from birth and her family’s living room is full of trophies and awards from their successes performing over the years. Her father Luke and younger brother William, along with friend Laura, are all part of the band ‘The Harmony Hunters’. “We set up originally to enter the band section at the 2019 NZ Gold Guitar Awards. We were lucky enough to win so decided to make the group a permanent thing,” explains Maddison. Zac now plays guitar and sings lead in the band, also. Luke, Maddison’s mother Paula and Zac are also part of popular cover band “Route 66.” Zac grew up in Tapawera but his family moved to Lake Rotoiti when he was ten. After receiving a music scholarship to attend Garin College he shifted back to Tapawera to make the school commute easier. “I am really lucky to have a very supportive family too,” he says. “They aren’t musical and I think I’m a wild card that was flung out,” he laughs. He is very grateful that his family have been able to attend most of his performances and cheer him on. Maddison began singing at a very young age and about three years ago learned to play the keyboard. Zac found his singing voice at the age of seven and quickly realised he didn’t really want to do much else. “Except trout fishing,” he interjects with a laugh. “Ever since I began to sing, I have dreamed of performing on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee,” he says. “We first met when we used to compete against each other in country music awards around eight years ago,” explains Maddison. “We started entering the duet section together in 2017, something we’ve kept on doing ever since.” They work well together. “She mostly puts up with me,” chortles Zac. “Except when you annoy me,” retorts Maddison. At New Zealand’s biggest country music festival, the New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards in Gore, Zac recently won the Intermediate vocal solo, gospel and traditional sections. His prize is a trip to the next Tamworth Country Music Festival in Australia where he hopes to sing and play guitar to as many people as possible. “I hope I can pave the way to us all performing as a group at Tamworth one day,” he says. Meanwhile, Maddison will be going into her first NCEA year when the next school term begins. “I would love to be doing a lot more music but I have to make sure I get an education first,” she says. As part of the duo’s winner’s package, they have had their first professional recording session in Wellington with NZ on Air. “It was really awesome,” says Maddison. “Over two days we laid down the vocal, keyboard and guitar tracks and it was super exciting to hear it all back,” adds Zac. A video is yet to be produced and both will be released sometime in the new year. Zac has been writing his own music for four years. For their main song entry in Smokefree Rockquest he and Maddison first thought of a topic that would be appropriate. They chose mental health because they knew it would resonate with a wide number of listeners. They then crafted the words and music together, bouncing ideas off one another and Zac worked on the tune in a key that would suit them both. “You’re never quite sure what you’ve got until you finish it,” he laughs. Both want to end up in the music business full-time. “The experience of Rockquest has given us a taste of what it’s like to perform professionally with the right equipment and resources,” says Zac. “We were fortunate as finalists in the competition to also be given lots of mentoring and information about the music industry as well as the practical experience of performing on a professional stage, we are very grateful for that. The Rockquest organisation is very good at preparing us for what will hopefully be a career in music,” he continues. It's hard not to feel sorry for Maddison, knowing that she has at least a couple more years of study ahead of her before her musical wings can truly fly, but in the meantime she and Zac are making the most of everything they can do as a duo but also to further their musical knowledge and experience as solo musicians and as part of the bands they belong to. “I really appreciate the way Maddison’s family have taken me under their wing and it is great to be able to contribute to their music, too,” says Zac. Meanwhile the dream of the Grand Ole Opry continues to hang tantalizingly close. “We just have to keep practising, performing as much as we can, and hopefully that dream will become a reality one day,” he says.