Recently, a poster advertising a “Battle of the Bands” has graced the hallways of De Soto High School. The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) hosts a yearly competition called School Jam USA.

Band director Matt Bradford said that he received the poster in the mail and thought of many DHS students who should enter the competition.

“There’s a lot of talent here at DHS. I know of a couple students who have bands and they should definitely enter. It’s really a pretty neat competition,” Bradford said.

The band members must be 13-19 years old and need to submit an online application that includes music, photos, bios, band web address and other miscellaneous information by Oct. 26. Music must be original or fall under public domain. Every band that meets the eligibility requirement will move on to the online round at www.schooljamusa.com.

Eight bands will then be invited to participate in the live finals in Anaheim, Calif. Based on musicality, ensemble, technical skill, originality and overall impression, as well as the public vote. The band with the most votes, whether they make it to the finals or not, will receive $1000 for their school’s music program.

“I love music and I perform for the rest of my life, so this contest would be a great opportunity for me and my band to achieve that,” said junior Ethan Ridings, whose Christian band will be entering the School Jam USA competition.

NAMM is a non-profit organization that works to encourage people of all ages to make music. For School Jam USA, the organization has partnered with Do Something, an organization focused on promoting teens to make a social change, the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, the National Association of Music Education, the Vans Warped Tour, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and many more organizations.

The first-prize band will win a trip to Europe to perform at School Jam Germany next spring, an opportunity to create a music video, $5,000 towards the winning school’s music program and $1,000 towards the purchase of musical equipment for the winning band. All finalist bands will perform live at Downtown Disney and will attend the NAMM show.

Bands of all musical genres are encouraged to participate.