Battle of the Bands

The Peer Voting will take place over February 25 - March 6
 
The Semi Finals will take place at B Side at House of Blues on March 22 and April 6
 
The Finals will take place at Brooklyn Bowl on April 28 

All eligible Entries will be reviewed and judged by a panel of qualified judges and available for Peer Voting during Round 1. Peer Voting will make up 25% of the score in Round 1. Peer must be at least sixteen (16) years of age to vote. Peer may vote no more than one (1) entry per Video each day. Peers should vote for the Video that best exhibits the originality, musicianship, and presentation. Judges will score each eligible Entry using a twenty-five (25) point scale for each of the three (3) criteria: originality, musicianship, and presentation, with twenty-five (25) being the highest score possible, for a maximum total possible score of seventy-five (75) points. Each point will represent one percentage point and judges will combine the scores with the Peer Voting results and the thirty (30) Entries with the highest overall scores will be selected to advance to Round 2 (each a “Semi-Finalist”). 

Fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists will perform at the Event on March 22, 2026 and Fifteen (15) Semi-Finalists will perform at the Event on April 6, 2026. 

The Semi-Finalists will each perform two (2) songs: one (1) song should be an original song written by the semi-finalist and one (1) song should be the semi-finalist’s interpretation of any song  produced and released in 1990-2000s.  

Performances will be judged on a ten (10) point scale for each of the following criteria: musicianship, stage presence, and originality with a maximum possible score of thirty (30) possible points. The three (3) Semi-Finalists.tf who receive the highest overall scores from among the Semi-Finalists performing at the same Event will advance to the Live Finals (each a “Finalist”) for a total of six (6) Finalists. Finalists must be willing to perform live at the Live Finals event. In the event that a Finalist is unwilling or unable to perform at the assigned Event, Finalist will forfeit the opportunity to advance and any potential available prize, and the Semi-Finalist with the next highest score (from the Event that the Finalist advanced from) will become a Finalist if time permits, and at the sole discretion of Contest Entities. 

The six (6) Finalists selected in Round 2 will perform three (3) songs at the Live Finals: one (1) song should be an original song written by the finalist, one (1) song should be the Finalist's interpretation of a song that was produced and released in any time period, and one (1) song can be any song the finalist chooses to perform. 

Performances will be judged on a ten (10) point scale for each of the following criteria: musicianship, stage presence, and originality, with a maximum possible score of thirty (30) possible points. At the conclusion of the Live Finals, the grand prize winner will be the one (1) Finalist who receives the highest overall score. 

In the event of a tie, judges will make the final decision in the selection of the Semi-Finalists, Finalists, or prize winners at their sole discretion.