MUMBAI: Giving budding rockstars a chance to showcase their talent, ‘Hard Rock Rising 2012’- a global battle of bands will kick-start from 1 March in India.

HRC has selected bands from five cities namely Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and  Bangalore to compete for the qualifying events. Shortlisted bands will be judged by a panel of local industry experts and the other participating bands’ representatives. A final round featuring each of the preliminary winners will be held on Thursday, 22 March 2012.

The local winners will be further pitted against 86 resident winners from across the globe. The winners will be narrowed down to top 10 bands worldwide via voting. A panel of celebrity judges and music industry professionals will select the top three winners.

The global hunt will offer one lucky band a lifetime opportunity to be on the list with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The winner will also perform a headlining act at the 2012 Hard Rock Calling music festival in London’s Hyde Park.