Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology's music students rocked Totara Street with their end of year creative concert on Monday night.

Spread across 11 bands and solo performers, students of the Tioriori (Certificate in Music) and Te Kamakama (Diploma in Music) classes took to the stage to showcase the talent that's about to burst onto the local music scene.

Music tutor Dave Bishop says Monday's concert was the culmination of a year's work for the students and their performances covered a host of genres including funk, pop, rap, reggae and heavy metal.

'These students have worked very hard to produce a concert of this calibre. There are some fantastic musicians that are ready to go out and make it in the live scene – not to mention the quality of their original music.”

As part of their set and their course work, each group were required to perform original material.

Reflecting on their upbeat reggae single ‘Secret Stash' Everglade Green's Matty Buxton says writing the song was a collaborative process with all of the group's members playing a part in its creation.

Evergreen Glade. Photo: Richard Robinson Photography

'We have the dreams,” adds fellow student and Evergreen Glade bandmate Kaperiera Hughes. 'Doing it is the barrier. But performing at this event has helped pushed us into an environment where music is no longer a pipe-dream.

'We're actually out there doing it. You have to take these opportunities if you want to make it happen for real.”

The Creative Concert was capped off by a performance from local funk band Sidewalk Empire whose bass player Jeff Kildare is also a music tutor at Toi Ohomai.

The Tioriori acts which performed on Monday were contemporary-style bands Alchemy State, Evergreen Glade and The Freestylers.

While the Te Kamakama acts included Just Do It (R'n'B), Highbred Nation (Hip-Hop & Rock), Dead Recipe (Alt Rock), Kaustee (Hip Hop), Sidewalk Empire (Soul & Groove), Annie (Solo Piano & Singer), Kraig Rimaha (Solo Singer/Songwriter), No Pressure (Rock), and Caught By Dawn (Rock).

Tioriori (Certificate in Music) student Waiora More of The Freestylers. Photo: Richard Robinson Photography