Pirate's Den Rock The Plank Battle of the Bands

CONGRATS TO 2017 WINNER DEAD HUMOR!

WHAT IS ROCK THE PLANK?
Rock The Plank is a multi-round battle of the bands competition with over $6,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs. Shows take place on Saturday nights at the Pirate's Den, home of great live music on the West side of Cincinnati, from June through August of 2017.

HOW DOES MY BAND ENTER? WHO CAN ENTER?
We are taking submissions now! Musical acts of ALL genres are welcome to enter. BOTH COVER BANDS AND ORIGINAL BANDS are welcome. There is NO ENTRY FEE! There are NO restrictions on what you can or cannot say or wear on stage. You must, however, be based reasonably close to the Greater Cincinnati area to be selected. New this year - the shows are ages 18 and up for the audience instead of 21 and up! We are only taking 36 bands this year, so enter now HERE.

WHAT CAN WE WIN?
The 1st place overall band will win $3,500, 2nd place wins $1,000, and 3rd place wins $500. The top band also gets a paid gig at the Pirate's Den! Plus, 1st place gets a full day of recording at Moonlight Studios and gets to play at the 2017 Cincy Beerfest. Check out all the prizes HERE.

HOW DO WE WIN?
Scoring is a 50/50 combination of fan voting and judging. Each paying audience member gets a ballot at the door to vote for their top 3 bands of the night. A 1st place vote is worth 3 points, a 2nd place vote is worth 2, and a 3rd place vote is worth 1 point. Our panel of judges is made up of key people from the Cincinnati music world, and will rate bands on musical skill, originality/accuracy, stage presence, and total production. For each show, half of the bands will be eliminated and half will advance to the next round. So if 6 bands play, 3 will advance to the next round.

Results will be posted on this website and on the Pirate's Den Facebook page by Noon the day after each event. Rounds are separated by about 3 weeks, so that you don't wear out your crowd and can build anticipation for the next round's show. Click LIKE on Pirate's Den's Facebook so you can keep up with the latest Battle of the Bands developments.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING?
Here are the key benefits the bands get out of participating:
-Playing in front of new people.
-Playing well-attended shows.
-Exposure of band name, increased online traffic, and show offers.
-Experience playing in an established venue.
-Experience of the repetition of setting up, tearing down, and sticking to set lengths.
-Meeting and creating relationships with other area bands.
-Showcasing in front of judges and getting feedback.
-Earning future shows at our venue.
-The chance to win great prizes!