IT may have been the first time for the Hope Fiji to represent our country on the international stage but that opportunity gave members of this young band to tap into more of their hidden talents and offer a glimpse of what is to be unveiled.
This band represented the nation in the Pacific Festival of Music, Arts and Culture hosted by Guam last month. Band members left our shores on May 21 and headed straight for the show which was in early June.
Band leader Savuto Vakadewavosa said they counted themselves very lucky to have been chosen to represent Fiji in the live band category.
Hope Fiji is a network of young people comprising independent recording artistes, seasoned musicians, singers/songwriters co-operating at certain gigs, events and projects to perform. Other then this, the youth are all part of different bands and have their own careers.
Upon auditioning against some of Fiji’s leading and great bands, they were surprised when selected to represent the nation.
Without any hesitation the band members, whose ages range from 19 to their 30s, took up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and happily rehearsed for the festival which involved the showcase of talents through music and arts from 27 Pacific Island nations.
Band leader Savuto Vakadewavosa said they put together whatever little ideas they had to come up with the different genre and the music they played in Guam.
“It was amazing how we brought in new sounds, new style of playing and new ideas because of our young band boys. I give credit to them because they created a lot of ideas which were put together to bring out the best from the band.
“When we started, we decided to be very creative and we wanted our segment to be like a show where we brought together ideas and we all contributed to giving new sounds and groove.”
Savuto also applauded the Department of Heritage and Culture and the Fiji Arts Council for believing in this young band to represent the nation and the assistance of Lai Veikoso who enabled them to put up a great show in Guam.
The festival, Savuto said, was also a great learning experience for them because they learnt a lot from other Pacific cultures.
While this trip served as a great learning curve for Hope Fiji, they hope there will be more moments like this as it was a first time experience for most of them.
This is also not the end for the Hope Fiji, members of the public are urged to keep a lookout as there would be more interesting releases from them in the near future.
Members of the band, are:
Savuto Vakadewavosa;
Akanisi Vakaloloma;
Bill Ram;
William Driver;
Joshua Raikoti;
Benjamin Seniroqa; and
Tua Mainavukea.
