Battle of the Bands 2026: The Competition Starts Now

West Michigan local bands have a chance to compete to perform at the Upheaval Festival and other prizes with the Heavyweights: Battle of the Bands 2026.

Heavyweights 2026: Battle Of The Bands Returns Bigger Than Ever

Attention West Michigan local bands, you have a chance to see if your band has what it takes to perform at a major music festival, win cash, a radio interview, and be critiqued by industry professionals.

Heavyweights were once a yearly staple at the Intersection in Grand Rapids, and now the battle of the bands is back, bigger and better than ever.

The Intersection has teamed up with The Rock Station 97.9 WGRD to give local artists a chance to earn radio promotion, compete on stage, and vie for a grand prize: $2,500 in cash, a performance slot at the Upheaval Festival, a primetime WGRD interview, and a song played on air. Second place will receive $500 in cash.

Plus, industry pros will be on hand to review each band’s single and digital press kit, including Jackie from Better Noise Music (home to Five Finger Death Punch, In This Moment, Nothing More, The Funeral Portrait, Bad Wolves, Yellowcard, and more) and Erin from Q Prime Management, who handles Radio Promotion & Marketing for artists like Metallica, Pantera, Disturbed, Volbeat, Three Days Grace, Greta Van Fleet, and more. Both will also provide the winning band with a personalized letter offering the same kind of professional guidance they give to the artists on their own rosters. This alone is priceless.

Read More: Stream the Explosive Jack White–Eminem Halftime Release

Heavyweights: Battle of the Bands 2026 Details

Bands need to submit their entry through the GRD app or WGRD.com. Submissions are open now through January 5, 2026, at midnight. Selections will occur January 9, 2026, with the finalists announced January 12-16.

There will be a band meeting on January 19th at the Intersection to go over everything expected from each artist, plus answer any questions that each representative may have.

The preliminary rounds will be held at Elevation:

• Round 1 - February 27th
• Round 2 - March 7th
• Round 3 - March 13th

The preliminary rounds will feature fan voting on-site. There will be boxes and ballots for each round that the Intersection staff will count. Then a winner will be announced.

The finals will be at the Intersection (TBA). The finals will be based on fan votes and a panel of judges.

👇BELOW: Michigan Artists and Bands Who Have Been Inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame👇