Finalists named for NTI Townsville 500 Battle of the Bands Competition

The finalists have been named for Supercars Battle of the Bands competition and it is over to the fans to decide just who will perform at this year’s Saturday Night Thrills concert.

Dozens of North Queensland based bands have entered the competition via social media since it was first announced in May, and today the five finalists have been announced.

WATCH: SNEAK PEAK INTO JAMIESON'S SATURDAY NIGHT THRILLS SET

They are local acts: The Vankeys, The Money Shots, Vampd, Bigfoot Mafia and Chris Baker who all put forward impressive performances on their social media channels as entries.

Fans will now vote on Supercars’ website to decide the winning band will perform prior to ARIA-Award winner Jamieson at Saturday Night Thrills and will also win the opportunity to sing the national anthem on the grid with that performance broadcast around the world and nationally on Fox Sports and the Seven Network.

ARIA-Award winning Phil Jamieson

They will also claim a hot lap, unique tour of pit lane and will perform live on Triple M in the days leading into the event. There is also a first-place cash prize of $5000 for the winning band.

The second-place prize winner will also perform on the Saturday evening and win a cash prize of $2000.

NTI Townsville 500 Event Manager Sam Pearce said the response to the Battle of the Bands competition has exceeded expectations.

“The caliber of talent we saw in this year’s entries was outstanding,” Pearce said.

“Bands have shown off their talents and have been great in promoting their entries via social media already, so we can’t wait to see which act fans select as the winners over the coming days.”

WATCH: SUPER TRUCK TAKES TO THE SKY ABOVE TOWNSVILLE

The Saturday Night Thrills exhibition will feature on and off-track entertainment for fans.

The event will for the first time in Townsville, see displays by some of Australia’s most-powerful drag cars along with the popular Hot Wheels Stunt Team, headed up by the legendary Matt Mingay and performances by the high-flying Airtime FMX Team.

The entertainment will end with a firework display following Jamieson’s performance which will include covers of rock hits and original music.

To vote, visit the Battle of the Bands voting page here. Voting closes Tuesday June 29 at 12pm AEST.

The NTI Townsville is supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to North Queensland for the NTI Townsville 500 across July 9-11. Tickets are available here.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo, and will be broadcast live and free on Seven.