IT'S official - the entries have closed, the bands have now been chosen and a whole host of musicians are getting ready to rock out in a Worcester music competition.

The Marr's Bar's Battle of the Bands takes place at the Pierpoint Street venue and will see 16 bands go head-to-head in a bid to be crowned musical champions.

The first heat will take place on Tuesday, March 21; Tuesday March 28; Tuesday, April 4 and Tuesday, April 11 - with four bands playing half hour slots on each of the nights.

A panel of five judges will select two acts from each night to go into the next round, with the final taking place on Tuesday, May 23.

The winners will receive £1,000 of musical equipment from Music City in the city's Tything and a day at FFG Recording Studios in Gloucestershire.

The recording will then be passed on to multimedia students at the University of Worcester to make into a music video, with the band headlining at the Marr's Bar and a slot on Dan Johnson's Friday session on BBC Hereford and Worcester.

Tickets for Tuesday's night are £2 on the door.