Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls, USA is on the search for local rock stars to take the stage in the heart of the Roman Empire with Hard Rock Rising, the world’s largest and most far-reaching battle of the bands competition! Through Hard Rock Rising, local Western New York artists could receive the chance of a lifetime – an all-expenses paid trip to Rome, Italy to perform at the first Hard Rock Live Rome music festival this summer!

Starting on Monday, February 3, 2014, through Monday, February 17, 2014, local fans decide which bands take the stage at Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls, USA by visiting Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls, USA’s Facebook page and downloading free tracks from bands of their choice. After voting online, fans are encouraged to visit Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls, USA where they can “triple their vote” by using a custom barcode at the cafe’s host stand. As an added bonus, 21 and older guests who check in at a participating Hard Rock Cafe are automatically entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip for two to the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. Guests can visit www.facebook.com/hrcniagarafallsusa to enter their vote.

All of the participating artists are part of ReverbNation, the world’s leading music community for rising musicians. ReverbNation built the technology that powers the programs, downloads and voting, which ultimately narrow the field for final judging.

Once local fan favorites are chosen, Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls, USA and 80+ other participating locations around the world will host a series of live battle competitions from Monday, February 24, 2014, through Tuesday, April 22, 2014. During that time, a panel of local industry judges will select one winner from each location who will move into the Global Competition and a second round of online fan voting to determine the Top 25 bands worldwide.

Once the top 25 finalists are determined, a panel of music industry professionals, including Steven Van Zandt, producer, songwriter, creator of the world’s most successful radio rock show “Little Steven’s Underground Garage,” founding member of the E Street Band and soon to be Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; singer and hit songwriter Bonnie McKee, known for her hit single “American Girl” as well as hit songs for Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Britney Spears; Laura Taylor of Everybody’s Management, who currently works with Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons; Scott Hutchison of acclaimed indie-band, Frightened Rabbit; Stone, guitarist of Taiwanese band Mayday and Hard Rock Records’ Artist Relations Executives James Buell and Blake Smith, will help select the grand prize winner and two runner-up bands.

The Grand Prize winner will perform at Hard Rock Live Rome, an outdoor music festival that will embrace more than 50,000 fans from across Italy. Winners of Hard Rock Rising will be flown to Italy to receive the ultimate rock star experience – the chance to visit the historic city of Rome and open up the main stage festivities at the first-ever Hard Rock Live Rome festival. The selected runner-up bands will each receive new music equipment and gear valued at $10,000.

For full rules and a list of participating locations, visit www.hardrock.com or www.facebook.com/hardrock

About ReverbNation:

ReverbNation provides over 3.3 million artists, managers, labels, venues, festivals/events and other music industry professionals with powerful, easy-to-use technology to promote and prosper online. Their wide array of distribution and promotional solutions provide the hands-on tools and actionable insights that allow them to reach their goals in an increasingly complex music industry. The company operates worldwide with customers on every continent. Over 20 million visitors come to reverbnation.com every month. For more information, visit ReverbNation.com and follow ReverbNation on Twitter: www.twitter.com/reverbnation.

About Hard Rock International:

With a total of 179 venues in 55 countries, including 139 cafes, 19 hotels and 9 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands. The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai. HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the company’s two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, Fl., both owned and operated by HRI parent company The Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as other exciting locations including Bali, Biloxi, Chicago, Cancun, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, San Diego and Singapore. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include Seoul, Vienna, Anchorage and Siem Reap. New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Daytona Beach, Aruba, Abu Dhabi, Ibiza and Shenzhen and Haikou in China. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com.