Report of The 3rd High School Light Music Contest, Kanto Regional Tournament

2023-09-08

On August 24, 2023, during the latter half of the summer vacation, I had the opportunity to attend the 3rd High School Light Music Contest, Kanto Regional Tournament, held in Yoyogi, Tokyo.

The High School Light Music Contest is a competition in light music organized by the NPO National Association of School Light Music Club and the Public Interest Incorporated Foundation of Kakehashi Arts and Culture Promotion Foundation.

Here is a report of the previous tournament held during this year's spring break.

⇒ Report of the 2nd High School Light Music Contest, Kanto Regional Tournament

As a former member of a light music club, I sincerely hope that with the Agency of Cultural Affairs sponsorship starting from this tournament, the event will continue to grow significantly. This expansion will provide even more opportunities for participation and showcase for light music clubs.

The grand prize-winning band from the previous tournament is on the cover of the pamphlet.

The contest begins at 10:45 AM with 25 high school bands from the Kanto region who have passed the preliminaries passionately performing one song each.

In this tournament, there were many bands composed of third-year students, which created a slightly different atmosphere compared to the second tournament held during spring break six months ago. Some bands may have approached this tournament as a culmination of their efforts.

The bands that have advanced through the preliminaries not only demonstrated high technical skill but, above all, their songs were excellent!

Out of the 25 bands, 17 performed original songs, and I must say, the ensemble and development were thoughtfully executed. It's honestly impressive to see high school students capable of this level of performance! (I was also in awe last time too.)

Among them, there were highly polished bands that even prompted judges to preface their comments with "This advice is more geared towards the adults, but..." It was impressive to see such maturity in their performances.

In terms of equipment, several bands were using vocal effects processors extensively. It felt like a significant change of era to witness high school students switching effects themselves instead of relying on the sound engineer to adjust their vocals. This is a reflection on the positive aspects of high school live performances, where you can genuinely sense the advances in technology.

Finally, awards were presented for Best Player, Encouragement Award, 3rd Place, Runner-Up, and Grand Prize, marking the conclusion of the tournament.

You can view the results of this tournament from the link below.↓

Results of the 3rd High School Light Music Contest, Kanto Regional Tournament

Grand Prize: Hosei University High School "The Bee’s Knees"

During the judging period, there was an exhibition by university bands on stage, and after the competition concluded, a special live performance by professionals sponsored by Gibson was held. It must have been a highly stimulating day for the participating high school students.