Trent University Music Society (TUMS) will be hosting its annual Battle of the Bands (BOTB) this Saturday at Sadleir House.

The event starts at 8pm and will feature eight bands competing for a first place prize of $500 and eight hours of recording time. The second place band will win $300. $200 is awarded to the third place act.

With the line-up finalized and the audition process finally over, here’s a run-down of who will be competing this year:

Folk/roots rock band ‘I, The Mountain’ will be back this year as defending champions against an eclectic field.

‘Liquid Larry And The Afterburners’ draw from an extensive catalogue of blues and rock as do ‘5 Shots To Ragtown’ (a band that I’ve only ever seen do covers before, so I’m interested to see what their original stuff sounds like).

Putting a punctuation mark on TUMS commitment to eclecticism is the face-melting punk band ‘Piss Locusts’.

‘Television Road’’s EP Character Splatters have earned them critical praise and even a shout-out on CBC 2, and will bringing some groove to their contention for the top spot at this year’s BOTB.

The White Crowleys have really left a mark on Peterborough lately with hybrid psychedelic and surf all slathered up in reverb and unexpected tangents.

Both they and Television Road have competed in BOTB’s before but both bands are bringing a lot more experience, presence and a more tightly-honed sound to bare on this year’s competition.

‘The Beef Boys’ were featured in Arthur earlier this year when they want on an East Coast tour with Lonely Parade. Their unpredictable, yet catchy garage rock, bring a lot of energy to this year’s edition of the TUMS BOTB and should make for an exciting event.

Also, a band called ‘Waterford’ who don’t seem to have any links or social media presence, but apparently are a thing nonetheless.

Who knows, maybe this mystery entrant will turn out to be the most mind-blowing performance in the history of the event, and therefore also the winners.

Admission is completely free and the bar is fully licensed, so come and support a night of great music and sample some of the best up-and-coming musicians Peterborough—and Trent University—has to offer.