Battle of the Bands Deadline Fast Approaching

Time is running out to stake your musical claim to fame.

Patch is holding a contest in which local bands will face off against each other rock star style. And Friday, April 20, is the deadline for video submissions.

This is a chance for you local band members to show off your talent and earn some impressive prizes. The grand prize winner will get to headline a gig at The Harp in Boston in June!

A few things about this contest:

• You must submit a performance video with an original song. No covers.
• All members must be at least 15 years old.
• At least one member of the band must be from a community covered by Patch.
• All genres are welcome to compete. Blues, Country, Metal, Rock, Alternative, R&B, Rap, Hip-Hop, Pop ... bring it on!
• Your entry must include typed out lyrics to the song. Songs with inappropriate or vulgar lyrics will be disqualified. (And don't pretend you don't know what inappropriate lyrics are.)
• Your entry must include the names and addresses of all band members.
• Instrumentals are permitted.
• Solo acts are permitted.

Area bands whose entries meet the contest rules will battle first in a regional round, in which bands from the North Shore and Merrimack Valley will battle for supremacy – and our readers will tell us who’s their choice!

Then, the top two winners from the North Shore/Merrimack Valley round will square off in the finals against finalists from the Greater Boston area and South Shore/Cape and the Islands.

• Friday, April 20 – Deadline for submissions
• Monday, April 23 – Regional round begins
• Friday, May 4 – Regional round ends
• Monday, May 7 – Final round begins
• Friday, May 18 – Final round ends
• Monday, May 21 – Grand prize winner announced

We have some great prizes lined up for the winners. The band that receives the most votes in the regional round will win two hours of recording time at a local recording studio. The North Shore/Merrimack Valley top vote getter will get time at The Space in Lowell.

But that’s just the start. The winner of the finals will get even more prizes!

The grand prize winner will headline a gig at The Harp in Boston, as well as a cut/color at Avanti Hair Salon, a party bus ride around Boston on Bustonian Party Bus and lunch at M.J. O'Connor's!

• Videos should not be longer than four minutes or exceed 100 MB. Keep it to one of these formats: AVI, MOV, WMV, MP4, MPEG, FLV, 3GP, or 3G2.
• One entry per band.
• Videos must be 100% original work. No covers or third-party materials.
• To submit your entry: email to Bryan.McGonigle@patch.com, upload to this article or use a file sharing service to get it to Bryan.McGonigle@Patch.com.

So those are the ground rules. Now, it’s time for your band to step into the spotlight!

For more information about the rules, please see the rules document attached to the article. If you have any questions, please email Bryan.McGonigle@Patch.com.