2 September, 2026

Teen musician’s creative juices flow freely amid gridlock

Not horsing around… Takapuna Grammar School student Oscar Walsh is already a seasoned performer and creative producer

A year at Takapuna Grammar School on Lake Road has quickly acquainted Rockquest finalist Oscar Walsh (16) with the frustrations of Auckland traffic.
And a song called Traffic is among three written during his year in Auckland that he will perform at the competition’s national finals for solo artists.
“I moved from Nelson to Auckland last year, so it’s definitely something new,” he says of the infamously clogged Lake Rd.
The song uses traffic as a metaphor for how life can feel pointless.
Selected as one of the top seven entries nationally, Oscar will play his set live in Wellington on 17 September.

Combining his skills as an artist and a music producer, he is “really excited” to play for an audience again.
In Nelson, his former band Solace played gigs for up to 400 people and even opened for The Beths. “We used to do loads of gigs as a band,” he says.
Solace entered Rockquest a couple of years ago, receiving an honourable mention. “We were really close to playing at the national finals.”
He is looking forward to another try at the competition, this time as a solo artist. “Now I have all this new material.”
He has pre-recorded his own production for his three-song set, including drums and strings elements.
Another of the compositions, American Football, explores the desensitisation of modern audiences to political violence. “People can be really passive when they are seeing things that are not that great.”
His third song, written in a fit of inspiration the night before he filmed his Rockquest entry, has a working title of The Cowboy Song.

Asked about his preferred genre, he says that’s a “hard question for any musician”.
“I’d say arts rock, and I draw a lot of inspiration from folk music.”
Walsh regards the late Jeff Buckley as a music-making role model.
To transport all the music gear required for the live performance, Oscar will make the long road trip to the Rockquest venue, the Great Hall in the capital’s Dominion Museum building. “I’ll probably go with my dad and my friend, who’s working on making a vlog of the road trip.”
TGS music teacher Rebekah Og says she is “super proud” of Oscar making the finals. “He’s always been a great producer, with bright energy and creative thought processes,” she says. “He’s brilliant, born to be a star.”
Oscar’s music can be found on his Instagram: @oscarwalsh.