Toms River Band to Open for Bruce Springsteen in London

A Battle of the Bands for the entire world?

"We wanted to support local artists and give them an opportunity on a global scale," said Hard Rock International Head of Music & Artist Relations John Kirkpatrick on this years Hard Rock Rising Global Competition, the largest ever Battle of the Bands driven by the unrelenting passion and raw talent of aspiring artists worldwide.

12,000 independent musicians from 6 continents entered the contest for the chance of a lifetime, rocking their way through multiple judging and voting rounds. Only 96 acts remain, vying for the #1 spot and an outrageously awesome prize package, courtesy of Hard Rock.

The Creeptones winning the hand at Hard Rock Atlantic City, placing them as 1 of 96 acts left in a 12,000-entry global competition. (HRAC Facebook)

For those of you doing the math, that is less than 1% of all global entries left in the competition, and you may very well know someone in that elite group. Hailing from Toms River, NJ, The Creeptones strummed up to the challenge this year and have made it all the way to the final round. The young 5-piece outfit (who describe their age as "collectively, 111" with a unique sound meshing the passionate harmonies and melodies of the Beatles with the emotional songwriting of Radiohead) could give New Jersey yet another reason to show off our talent.

The stakes?

This Ocean County-based band is on the verge of winning a 6-city world tour including dates in Tokyo, Honolulu, Sydney, Honk Kong, and Chicago, receiving a one-year record deal with Hard Rock Records complete with a professionally produced album and music video, $22,000 worth of cash and equipment, and the clincher: the opportunity to open for NJ's own Bruce Springsteen in front of 80,000 fans in London's Olympic Park!

A place in the top 25 will put our homegrown boys in the final judging rounds for a panel of judges of the music industry's finest, including Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band, Live Nation Senior Vice President of Music Toby Leighton-Pope, and a slew of Hard Rock Records executives, who will ultimately decide the winner.