The students, Obscenery, came runner up in the best original song category.

Fat Pigeon, a band made up of students from Sanderson Middle School, Casuarina Senior College and Darwin High School has taken out the eighth annual Battle of the School Bands contest in the final on Friday night at Brown’s Mart Theatre.

Battling it out against 17 other finalists from across the Territory, Fat Pigeon impressed the judges and will now perform on the same stage as big Aussie names, The Rubens, John Butler Trio, Peking Duk and Tash Sultana at the 2017 BASSINTHEGRASS music festival.

Also scoring a gig on the coveted line up is Stevie Jean from Darwin High School who took out the soloist/duo category.

Katherine High school students Maddie, Oscar, Leon and Georgie from “Obscenery” won the Katherine heat in March.

NT Music School principal Bill Grose said, “the number of participants in the heats in Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Alice Springs, Darwin and Palmerston and the workshops in Tennant Creek this year clearly demonstrates that the program continues to strike a chord with students from all over the NT.

“The big development that we noticed this year was a step up to new levels of creativity and originality in the music that students have brought to the contest. All the entries in Battle of the School Bands are required to perform an original, and NT students have their own very unique voices and styles when it comes to expressing themselves though the arts.”

Senior teacher Simon Pedder echoed Mr Grose’s sentiments, declaring this year’s Battle has been the “most hotly contested ever” with finely honed skills “tightening the gap between rivals.

“Acts have come from across the Territory, with an increase in performers using electronica — electronic-based styles such as techno, house, drum and bass. The long-standing favoured genres of heavy metal, folk, rap, turntabling, and rock and roll also feature in the extraordinary soundscapes.”

Now in its eighth year, the Battle of the School Bands is open to all middle and secondary  (Years 7 – 12) students in Northern Territory government and non-government schools.

Entrants must compose and perform original music only and are judged on their stagecraft, originality and musicianship.