Top Four Bands in Tampa to Compete for Chance to Become
Winner of the World’s Largest Battle of the Bands Competition

TAMPA, Fla. (May 11, 2017) – Drum roll please… it’s officially show time! Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa will host its top four local bands for Hard Rock Rising, the world’s largest battle of the bands competition, after a three-month search.

On May 24 at Hard Rock Cafe Tampa, selected bands will battle it out for a chance to win this year’s grand prize – a live performance during halftime at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

A panel of Hard Rock industry professionals carefully chose the three local bands, while the local Tampa community voted online for a Wildcard winner. The bands participating in this year’s competition will include IOH, Stonegrey and Actual Bank Robbers (top three finalists), as well as Jackmantra (Wildcard winner).

To determine a winner, Tampa music industry leaders including Jesse Kage (Founder of the Kage Kult Show), Orlando Davis (Programming Director for WiLD 94.1) and Ty Bailey (Programmer for iHeart Media) will unite at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa to judge the competition, hosted by Seminole Hard Rock Tampa emcee Lauren Pickel.

The Seminole Hard Rock Tampa winner will receive $1,000 and advance to the next round to be judged by a panel of international music industry professionals. Those judges will then determine the three runners up and a grand prize winner.

In partnership with ReverbNation, Hard Rock International will award the top four global acts with a Fender instruments prize pack and a 1,000 CD/DVD pack of the artist’s latest recording or video from Bison Disc. The grand prize recipient will perform during halftime at Hard Rock Stadium and will have the opportunity to create a professionally produced music video, which will be added to Hard Rock’s world-wide video system.

For additional details and the full rules and regulations on the Hard Rock Rising Battle of the Bands competition, please visit www.HardRockRising.com.

About Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is the premier entertainment destination of Central Florida. Owned and operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the property is one of the most successful and largest casinos in the world. Located off I-4 at North Orient Road and Hillsborough Avenue, about 10 minutes east of downtown Tampa, the casino features high stakes table games, thousands of the hottest slot machines as well as a smoke free slots area offering 250 popular games. Additionally, there is a new state-of-the-art Poker Room featuring 46 tables. The hotel is AAA Four Diamond rated and offers six award-winning Zagat-rated restaurants, including the fine dining venue Council Oak Steaks & Seafood. The only place to rock one’s body and soul, Rock Spa® is also available along with a plethora of VIP services. For more information, please call 866-502-PLAY or visit us online and via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

About Hard Rock International
With venues in 75 countries, including 175 cafes, 24 hotels and 11 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 Valencia, Innsbruck, Andorra la Vella and Chengdu. New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Berlin, Dubai, London, Los Cabos, New York City, and Shenzhen, Dalian and Haikou in China. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com.

About ReverbNation
ReverbNation is the global leader in providing independent musicians the tools to manage every aspect of their careers. Since 2006, ReverbNation’s complete career management solution has built a community of over 4 million artists. This unrivalled access to today’s emerging talent, added to an industry leading curation capability, and a growing online audience of millions of fans, allows ReverbNation to play a pivotal role in the early identification and development of the next generation of successful artists. For more information, visit ReverbNation.com and follow ReverbNation on Twitter at Twitter.com/ReverbNation.

About Fender
With an illustrious history dating back to 1946, Fender has touched and transformed music worldwide and in nearly every genre: rock ‘n’ roll, country and western, jazz, rhythm and blues and many others. Everyone from beginners and hobbyists to the world’s most acclaimed artists and performers have used Fender instruments and amps, in the process making the company not only a revered music industry name, but also a cultural icon. It is Fender’s vision to continue championing THE SPIRIT OF ROCK-N-ROLL® throughout the world and their mission to exceed the expectations of music enthusiasts worldwide.

About Bison Disc
Bison disc is a leader in music CD and CD package manufacturing. With 22 years of experience, Bison Disc works to provide thousands of order to musicians worldwide. Bison Disc is known for its legendary quality, large selection of packaging options and exclusive customer service.

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CONTACTS:
Nikki Yourison, Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, (813) 627-7623, [email protected]
Chris Dirato, Bitner Group, (954) 703-7938, [email protected]