Five local/regional bands will vie for a $500 in prize money Saturday at the Res-hall-a-palooza ExTRAvaganza Battle of the Bands.

“Even if there weren’t any prizes on the line, it is a great opportunity for all of the bands to play a free show in front of a large, diverse crowd,” said Patrick Blair, IRHA director of special events

Battle of the Bands will run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Towers courtyard and includes regional groups from Ames, Lincoln and Omaha. The winning band, chosen by a selected panel of judges, will receive $300, while second place will get $150 and third place gets $50.

“I’m a huge music fan and wanted to do a concert of some sort,” Blair said. “In previous years they have had bands play at ExTRAvaganza, so that seemed like the logical place for it.”

Far Cry, an Ames-based pop-punk quintet, will be the last of the five groups to perform. They have practiced and written new songs to debut at the concert and have been doing shows this semester in preparation for the Battle of the Bands, according to Far Cry Guitarist Nic Thompson.

“We’ve been playing in the Ames area for a year now and we thought it would be a good experience for us,” Thompson said. “We’re looking forward to playing against four other really powerful bands.”

Another vying for the $500 cash prizes is the Ames-based alternative rock group 2nd Best. They have been together since Spring 1999, and are looking forward to playing the Battle of the Bands.

“We just take any gig that we can get,” 2nd Best bassist Paul Friemel said. “We did three shows in Ames last weekend, including `Ames Music Live,’ to prepare for the Battle of the Bands. We hope to gain a larger fan base in Ames by doing this show.”

The other three bands playing are HiFi-90 from Lincoln, Neb. and Omaha’s Flurry and Snap Jaw.

Each of the five bands submitted an application, a biography and a demo CD. From that information, the committee chose the bands they thought would give the best performance and variety of style, Blair said.

“We saw Battle of the Bands as the best way to give people a solid variety of music,” Blair said. “Also, it seemed the best way to support the regional music scene by giving many groups a chance to play.”