The Beanie Boys can certainly hold a beat.
The 11-year-old trio, made up of guitarist Elijah Barr, drummer Lucas Wilson-Moreno and bassist Eli Drummond picked up the third-place accolade at Nelson Bandquest last month.
The Riwaka School students took to the stage among bands from across the Top of the South to perform Cold Play’s Yellow, as well as an original piece written by Elijah, who also won a Star Vocalist Award.
Between them, they’ve dabbled in a range of instruments along their musical journey. Elijah also plays violin, while Eli started with drums and piano before adding depth and soul to their fledgling band by picking up the bass guitar.
The Beanie Boys started jamming together at the end of last year, and part of their journey has been reconciling their different musical tastes. Lucas is a big Red Hot Chilli Peppers fan, while Eli is partial to a bit of Metallica, and Elijah’s tastes run more to pop.
The boys’ music teacher, Glenn Bathgate, says that although they don’t always agree on what songs to play, the boys are a tight group who punched about their weight at Bandquest.
“They put in a lot of hard work in the weeks leading up to it,” he says. “They’re very committed.”
