Five-piece alt-rock groove band French Doors from Otumoetai College won first place at this year's Bay of Plenty regional Smokefreerockquest final at the Totara St Performing Arts Centre.

The band has been together for three years, and placed second in the regional event last year. Singer and front-woman Emily Ardern says a lot of their success comes down to how well they work together.

'There's a lot of hard work, and a lot of practicing - we try to play any gigs we can to get experience being on stage,” says the 15-year-old, 'We get this buzz from it now, it's so comfortable that it's just exciting, and always an awesome experience.”

The band is made up of Grace Finnigan on keyboard, Jahvis Stantiall on guitar and backing vocals, Emily Ardern on vocals, Flynn McLaughlin on drums, and Sloane McNamara on bass.

Second place in the band category went to Blackout from Tauranga Boys College, whose members are Andre Moffat on vocals, Tane Livingston on bass, Blake Thomas and Aiden Mogford on guitar, and Levi Watts on drums.

The solo-duo winner for Bay of Plenty was Bree Rose from Katikati College, with second place goiong to Fletcher Oxford from Tauranga Boys' College.

These four acts win musical gear from associate sponsors NZ Rockshops, and have the opportunity to gain selection for the national final in September.

Smokefreerockquest Founder and director Glenn Common says there are more bands than ever before reaching the high standard required from national finalists.

'This means that real dedication is required to achieve the ‘stand out quality' that the judges will be looking for,” he says.

'They have to capture 15 minutes of their original material on video for selection as national finalists.

'It's a process that demands creativity and musical ability, being able to work together as a group and having good organisational skills.

'What separates them out is perseverance – industry success seldom happens overnight.”

The top regional bands and solo/duos submit footage for selection as finalists to play off at the Smokefreerockquest national final on Saturday, September 22 at the Dorothy Winstone Centre in Auckland, preceded by the Smokefree Tangata Beats national final on Friday, September 21.

The full list of awards for Bay of Plenty is:

Band 1: French Doors, Otumoetai College

Band 2: Blackout, Tauranga Boys' College

Band 3: The Good Stuff, Bethlehem College

Solo/Duo 1: Bree Rose, Katikati College

Solo/Duo 2: Fletcher Oxford, Tauranga Boys' College

ZM People's Choice: Three Quarters Late, Bethlehem College

Smokefree Best Vocals: Shae Northfield, Tauranga Girls' College

MAINZ Musicianship: Jack Hendy of The Good Stuff, Bethlehem College

Best Song: French Doors, Otumoetai College

Fatboy Style Award: Cian Alison of Vanguard, Trident High School & St Joseph's Catholic School

The live events run from May 5 until July 6, and most regions are also being filmed for the hugely popular SFRQ webisodes (sfrq.nz), fronted this year by NZ's ‘First Bloke' Clarke Gayford.