From finalist to judge: how Smokefreerockquest shaped a Massey lecturer’s music career

At 15, Dr Jesse Austin-Stewart entered Smokefreerockquest with his high school friends in 2012 as part of a band called SundayBest.

“We entered just because we thought it would be fun and were really shocked when we made it through the first stage of the competition,” he says.

SundayBest ended up making the National Finals in 2012, while also placing third in the 2013 National Finals.

“I remember finding out we had made the National Finals in 2012 and we were ecstatic. It had been a year of working really hard, underestimating ourselves, and being constantly surprised at the positive reception to our music. It really encouraged us to keep working hard at music,” Dr Austin-Stewart says.

Initially planning to pursue a career in accounting, his experience in Smokefreerockquest gave him the confidence to consider a career in music.

“Our success in Smokefreerockquest gave me, but also my parents, a bit more confidence in my abilities in music. My music teachers saying to my parents that it isn’t common to do well in this competition gave all of us a bit more confidence to give this a go in a tertiary space,” he reflects.

He moved to Wellington to study music when he left high school, eventually completing his PhD in music and becoming a lecturer in Te Rewa o Puanga School of Music and Screen Arts at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University.

Dr Austin-Stewart says through his teenage high school experience with Smokefreerockquest, he met people who he still works with professionally.

He’s been involved with the competition ever since and has been a judge for various regional events, while also becoming part of the National Finals judging panel in 2025.

He says the best part of judging is seeing performers at every stage of the journey and watching them grow over time.

As Dr Austin-Stewart was once up on that stage himself, he can relate to what the young performers are feeling.

“When you're judging, you might have three events in a weekend and it's really easy to get lost in the sea of hundreds of performers, but I know when you're up there, you're working so hard leading up to that event, and the results mean a lot to you as a performer, so it's really important to not lose sight of that,” he says.

Since 2012, Rockquest Promotions has evolved to offer more pathways for young musicians and artists, including the Solo Duo category in 2013 and running other competitions like Showquest, Rockshop Bandquest, TOI, OnScreen, Stills, and Smokefree Tangata Beats, which reflects the unique musical cultural identity of Aotearoa New Zealand and the South Pacific.

Dr Austin-Stewart says he’s excited that there are now even more opportunities for teenagers who might not otherwise have many avenues to pursue music.

“As a young person, it's really hard to find a space to say what you think about the world or talk about your experiences where people are actually going to listen to you. Smokefreerockquest uses music to empower young people’s voices when they are more important than ever to listen to.”

This year’s National Final, hosted on Massey's Pukeahu campus in Wellington, brought Dr Austin-Stewart’s journey with the competition back to where he studied and currently teaches.

He says it was the best looking and sounding Smokefreerockquest event he’d ever been to, with the stage decked out with Massey’s high-tech equipment.

The event involved many other staff members who have been involved with Smokefreerockquest for several years.

Dr Austin-Stewart says that hosting Smokefreerockquest at Massey is a great way to inspire young people to consider their futures in music at a world-class commercial music facility.

“It’s really exciting that our partnership with them can support pathways from that high school space through to the professional career space.”

He says having Smokefreerockquest at a university is the perfect place for young people to express themselves.

“We have a space where people are empowered to say what they think and that's the heritage of universities. It's a space where we're allowed to explore different ideas.”

The punk rock trio Fork from Bream Bay College (band category) and Lily Moore from Havelock North High School (solo/duo category) took out the Wellington National Final this year.