Young musician in famous footsteps
Hauraki Plains College student Ruby Walsh won the women’s musicianship award at the New Zealand Smokefreerockquest finals.
A Waikato schoolgirl has taken out a coveted national music award previously won by stars including Kimbra and Brooke Fraser.
Hauraki Plains College student Ruby Walsh won the women’s musicianship award at the New Zealand Smokefreerockquest finals last month.
Walsh, 16, says she was shocked when they rang her and said she had won.
“I couldn’t believe it, I did a lot of crying. It’s such a big thing to win. I’m so lucky. I felt like I was on cloud nine. I rang my music teacher Mr Green straight afterward and told him and was thanking him for all his help.”
The award has been part of the competition since 1993 and has also been presented to Bic Runga, Brooke Fraser, Kimbra, Annah Mac and Anika Moa.
“The cool thing is that all of the previous winners are all now famous, so this is my little bit of hope that one day my name will be on the end of that list. They all do what I love doing so I really look up to them,” says Walsh.
She began her music career at HPC in 2010 when she was given the opportunity to enter a Year 10 competition ‘Battle of the Bands’.
“That was the first time I had ever sung in front of an audience. I never thought I was good enough to sing. And then after that I got really good feedback and thought, wow maybe I can sing. And from there it went onto other things and I guess started from there.”
Walsh writes her own original songs and finds herself creating tunes when she is playing her guitar.
“I like to use jazzy cords and that kind of stuff but none of my family are musical, so I don’t know where I get it from.”
Walsh has always had a guitar and began learning when she was 12 after her mother bought her an op shop guitar for $28.
“I have had it ever since. The strings on it are more expensive than the guitar itself.”
Walsh won prize money as well as the award and she is going to put that towards her new guitar.
“The new guitar I want is an electric acoustic Maton. It’s worth a lot of money, but this means I can put money away for it and then begin doing gigs, playing at my church with a better guitar and begin recording all the songs I have written to just get my music out there.”
The music video Walsh sent through to enter the Smokefree women’s musicianship award was an original called Waiting.
