The Ultimate Battle of the Musos 2011!

Youth from the Wakatipu Basin are fully engaged in The Ultimate Battle of the Musos 2011, organised and hosted by The Youth Booth (formerly X-it Youth Centre).

This is the 4th year The Ultimate Battle of the Musos has run, each year developing with a few new added extras to keep the creative juices flowing.

"This year is no exception," says Wakatipu Youth Trust youth worker Fi Sawers.

This year's competition winners will get their song recorded at Queenstown's Studio 183 and have the opportunity to perform at Revolver. The best band will get to play a warm-up set on central Queenstown's New Year's Eve stage and the best solo artist will get a voucher to 'It Might Get Loud' music store.

Dubside and The Fletcherz were selected by the judging panel, comprising some of Wakatipu's top musicians at last Friday's first heat (September 23), with the second heat scheduled for 7pm at The Youth Booth this Friday (September 30).

Everyone is welcome to come and show their support and enjoy a great night's entertainment both this Friday and at next Friday's (October 7) final, Miss Sawers said.

Mike Chunn, founding member of Split Enz, CEO of APRA for 11 years and current CEO of Play it Strange, will once again be guest judge alongside the local judging panel at the The Ultimate Battle of the Musos 2011 final.

"To invite Mike down once was exciting, but to have him jump at the opportunity of judging again is fantastic," Miss Sawers said. "He was blown away with the musicianship of our students after he ran a workshop at Wakatipu High School last year and said there was some musical 'magic' here."

The competition is open to Wakatipu youth from year 9 students through to 20 year olds, who perform as individuals or groups.

Miss Sawers said the event would not be possible without the support of Creative Queenstown, Revolver, Rock FM, Air New Zealand Holidays, Shipleys Audiovisual, Heritage Queenstown, Studio 183, Queenstown Lakes District Council's Summer Daze programme, It Might get Loud and Rock Formation Trust, which supports local youth music performers.