Hard Rock Rising Global Battle Of The Bands Begins Live Battle Rounds And Online Video Submissions

World's Largest Battle of the Bands Unveils Celebrity Judges and New Prize Details - Including a Potential Development Deal with Island Records

News provided by

Hard Rock International

Mar 04, 2015, 12:22 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The battle for Barcelona continues as Hard Rock International, in partnership with ReverbNation, announces the start of the live performance round of the Hard Rock Rising global battle of the bands. Hard Rock collaborated with ReverbNation's curation team to select live round finalists from a pool of more than 13,000 global entrants. In addition, Hard Rock is introducing a new portion of the Rising contest by allowing bands to participate via video submissions. Musicians from around the world can now join bands that have already entered by recording a cover version from a pre-selected list of songs including tracks from Fall Out Boy, Taylor Swift, Avenged Sevenfold, Tove Lo and many more. For more information, visit www.HardRockRising.com.

Through Hard Rock Rising, aspiring musicians will receive the ultimate shot at stardom with an all-expenses paid trip to Barcelona, Spain to compete for the opportunity to perform at the first-ever Hard Rock Rising Barcelona global music festival this summer. In addition, the brand is pleased to announce that one of the world's most legendary record labels, Island Records, will give the winner of Hard Rock's global battle a potential development deal.

"We are excited to be involved in the search for the best new band in the world to take the stage at Hard Rock Rising," said Steve Yegelwel, SVP Island Records. "We have a lot of confidence in the curation capabilities of the teams at ReverbNation and Hard Rock and are looking forward to participating in the final selection process in Barcelona this summer."

Beginning on Monday, March 2, 2015, bands will take the stage at participating Hard Rock locations around the world for a series of live battle events. One city winner will be selected from each location by a panel of local industry judges. The winning band from each location will receive a prize of $1,000 and move on to the regional phase of the competition. For full rules and a list of participating locations, visit www.HardRockRising.com.

In the final phase of the contest, a panel of international music industry professionals will review the city winners and video submissions to determine six regional winners. This year's judging panel includes the E Street Band's Steven Van Zandt, legendary rocker and Poison frontman, Bret Michaels; Mumford & Sons' bassist, Ted Dwane; Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie; lead vocalist and guitarist for Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchinson; Canadian pop multi-instrumentalist, LIGHTS; bassist of the Taiwanese band Mayday, Masa; and Maps & Atlases' Shiraz Dada. Each regional winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Barcelona, Spain to perform at Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona for the final live battle event. The overall winner will receive the opportunity of a lifetime – to perform on the main-stage at Hard Rock Rising Barcelona and receive a record deal with Island Records!

"Hard Rock Rising is the ideal platform for up-and-coming artists to showcase their talent and I am honored to be included in the judging panel to review the finalists from Hard Rock locations around the world," said Mumford & Sons' bassist Ted Dwane. "Everyone in the music industry knows how hard it can be to get discovered, and I look forward to hearing some incredible new talent!"

Committed to supporting music and emerging artists around the globe, Hard Rock International hosted more than 28,000 live music events worldwide in 2014. The brand continues its dedication to support of up-and-coming artists in 2015 with the Hard Rock Rising Battle of the Bands, providing a forum for today's hottest new talent.

Live in Barcelona
Hard Rock Rising Barcelona will take place on Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25, 2015, in Barcelona, Spain in front of 60,000 fans, featuring a lineup of international talent performing against the backdrop of the beach at El Forum. This unique and cultural music event gives music lovers the opportunity to witness the first-ever Hard Rock Rising Barcelona global music festival and enjoy some of the hottest and most recognized names in music.

About Island Records
Island Records, which celebrated its 55th anniversary in 2014, maintains its position as one of the world's legendary record labels, a coveted destination for new and established artists of every description. Island staked its claim at the beginning of the musical revolution that shook the 1960s and '70s, and continues that trend-spotting spirit of adventure. Today's Island is home to a varied roster that ranges from Bon Jovi, Avicii, Fall Out Boy, The Killers, to The Gaslight Anthem, American Authors, Jake Bugg, Tove Lo, Kiesza, and many more. Island Records is a division of Universal Music Group, the undisputed global music leader, with wholly owned operations in 60 territories. Universal Music Group is a fully owned subsidiary of Vivendi. For more information, visit www.islandrecords.com

About ReverbNation
Independent Artists turn to ReverbNation for music industry connections, worldwide audience exposure and the powerful promotional tools necessary to advance their careers in today's digital music ecosystem. Driven by its mission to put Artists First, the company has grown since its 2006 launch to serve nearly 4 million musicians worldwide. In 2014 ReverbNation developed its proprietary curation-at-scale methodology to identify the world's most promising Artists early in their careers. This capability, coupled with its global audience, allows ReverbNation to bring the world's best emerging Artists unrivaled access to opportunity. For more information, visit ReverbNation.com and follow ReverbNation on Twitter at Twitter.com/ReverbNation.

About Hard Rock International
With a total of 198 venues in 63 countries, including 152 cafes, 21 hotels and 10 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world's greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands. The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai. HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the company's two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, Fl., both owned and operated by HRI parent company The Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as other exciting locations including Bali, Chicago, Cancun, Ibiza, Las Vegas, Macau and San Diego. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include San Juan, Rio de Janeiro and Marrakech. New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Daytona Beach, Dubai, Los Cabos, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tenerife, Abu Dhabi, and Shenzhen and Haikou in China. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com.