Hard Rock presents a battle of the bands

Hard Rock is on the hunt for musicians on the rise to take the stage at the 2012 Hard Rock Calling music festival in London’s Hyde Park. Hard Rock Rising, the global battle of the bands, will give one local band from this international competition the chance of a lifetime — to be on the bill with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and additional headlining performers at one of the world’s most-anticipated concert events.

The area’s greatest undiscovered bands, as chosen by Hard Rock Cafe Destin’s Facebook fans, will take the stage at Hard Rock Cafe Destin and battle it out live at multiple qualifying events. Events begin at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 23 and 28, with the final round March 2. Bands performing include Faded Saints, Skincrawl, 13th Shade, For Shame, Hotel Oscar, Heritage, The Ayers, Skyview and Vantage Point.

A panel of local industry experts including Woofy Ramone, Tony Leonard, Stave Garrett, Diamond Dan, Hayden and participating bands’ representatives, will judge the bands.

The final round will feature each of the preliminary winners on March 2, with one winner being selected to move on.

Hard Rock Cafe Destin’s local winners will then be pitted against 86 other Hard Rock Cafe local winners from across the globe. These local winners will be narrowed down to the top 10 bands worldwide via fan voting on participating Hard Rock Facebook pages. A panel of celebrity judges and music industry professionals will select the top three winners.

The first place winner will be flown to London for the ultimate rock star treatment, including a spot on the bill at Hard Rock Calling 2012. Second and third prize winners will receive $5,000 and $2,500, respectively, in ReverbNation PROMOTE IT credits, a revolutionary tool that creates targeted, highly effective Facebook advertising campaigns for musicians and venues promoting songs, Facebook pages and concerts.

For complete rules and a list of participating locations visit www.hardrock.com.