A $2500 arts scholarship awarded to Dunstan High School band ‘The Stolen Rings,’ will see the group recording songs in the world famous Roundhead Studios.

The group received the award from the Alexandra Community Arts Council last Friday, and has been making a name for themselves over the past year.

The Stolen Rings was placed second in the regional Smokefree Rockquest event in 2025, and later in the year impressed judges at the Central Sound Waves event in Queenstown.

The band’s original music gained them an 8-hour professional studio recording session in Queenstown, but now they are heading north to record in the same studio where it all started for Neil Finn.

The Stolen Rings have big plans for 2026.

The talented group of 16-year-olds competed against 17 other bands in the rockquest in their first ever performance, where they had to perform two fully original songs that they wrote themselves. 

Influenced by Led Zeppelin, ACDC and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the group writes songs about issues such as cyber bullying, and most recently the floods up north.

Mother Tracey Mcfadyen said the band invested countless hours writing lyrics and composing music, proving their dedication and originality.

She said the boys were driven by a genuine passion for music, and dedicated themselves to practicing 2–3 times a week outside of school, continually pushing their creativity and performance skills.

They also played several local gigs during 2025 and will continue to raise their profile again this year.

The Alexandra Community Arts Trust runs the annual ‘Art in the Garden’ event in January, and the profits from that are put back into providing scholarships for individuals to improve their skills.

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