Two student bands have taken their first steps towards securing a recording career through performances at Byron Bay’s East Coast Roots & Blues Festival last term.

The two bands from Byron Bay High School played 20-minute spots during the festival, following in the footsteps of former schoolmates Stan Walker and Cody Butler who played at the festival last year. Singersongwriter Ms Butler has since gone on to combine a busy performance and touring schedule with tertiary study.

Byron Bay High’s deputy principal, Ian Davies, said the experience gave students a chance to perform at an internationally recognised music festival.

“The students perform in front of 300 people on a performance stage with all the professional quality gear,”he said. “It really is a chance to showcase what they have to offer.”

The highly sought after festival spots came as a result of the school’s long association with the staging of the event and moves by the P&C last year to have a student showcase at the festival.

This year the successful acts were chosen through auditions and performances at the school. Judges, including local musicians Sarah Tindley and Stu Eadie, selected the two winning bands during a final audition.

Mr Davies described the Year 11 band, Clank and the Mermaid factory, consisting of Max Van Stee, Clancy Walker and Ryan Pitt, as having a funk sound and a “high level of musicianship”. The Year 10 band, Horizontal Rain, made up of Gene Hooker, Elliot Wykeham, Felix Kleinman and Sam Feel, was “very polished” and had “an impressive rhythm section”.

Mr Davies said negotiations were underway to feature some of the school’s heavier sounding student bands at Byron Bay’s other high profile annual music event, Splendour in the Grass, later this year. “The musical talent at this school really is outstanding,” he said.

“We have very creative students who put a lot of effort into their music.”