School Bands jostle for honours at Lagos High School Music Challenge


High school students and lovers of live music are in for exciting times as a novel Lagos High School Music Challenge (LHSMC) kicks off. LHSMC is a unique music contest aimed at harnessing music talents among children and teenagers in the state while empowering and offering early guidance into the ever growing and exciting world of live music.


The program which is opened to secondary students in Lagos will officially debut on the 20th of June, 2018 at the Multi-Purpose Hall, EKO FM, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos with over 30 bands vying for honors and various goodies up for grabs. The executive producer of the show, Biodun Kupoluyi, the Chief Executive Officer, Entertainment Media Limited, explained that “the appalling trend of parading music illiterates as the elites of Nigerian music pushed us as an organization to birth this idea. The rich musical history that King Sunny Ade, Fela, Dan Maraya Jos, Bala Miller, IK Cairo, Ebenezer Obey, Osita Osadebe, Oliver De Coque, and all the other great legends toiled to build is gradually eroding, dying and that is why we decided to face the next generation to help arrest the situation.”


Checks on the official website of the competition, www.Lhsbconline.com shows that registration closed Thursday, 14 June 2018 and the excitement among school pupils, music instructors and parents is high. Organizers hinted schools have since began rehearsals for the competition that will parade 15 of the 30 bands eliminated during the first round leaving the remaining contestants to face the battle in front of a panel of industry experts for the second round.

Also, solo talents in music will be on stage to contest among themselves. Among the schools qualified for the finals are CMS Grammar School, Igbobi Junior High School, Supreme Education Foundation, Bishop Howell, Seolad Group of Schools, ZIggy Wisdom School,Living Stone Model School, Babington Macaulay, and Baptist Academy, Tesjok School, Command Day Secondary School, Ogudu Grammar School, Stadium Junior Grammar School and Agidingbi Junior Grammar School, among others. The 15 qualified bands in the First Round tagged Knockout Series, as well as winners in Solo-Face-Off, will move up to this year’s Grand Finale set for June 21 which coincides with the globally celebrated World Music Day.
Contestants are to perform cover songs and original compositions during the competition.

The talent search show is endorsed by the Lagos State’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ministry of Education and EKO FM. Lagos High School Band Challenge (LHSMC) is conceived and designed by Entertainment Media Limited to discover, develop, and promote live music and band culture among secondary school students in Lagos.



By Gabriel Olabode