With raw sounds and pure desire, 12 bands will take the stage tomorrow night. Only three will walk away with an opportunity to play at Movin' On.

For the second year, the Association of Residence Hall Students will sponsor the Battle of the Bands at 8 p.m. tomorrow night in Alumni Hall. There is no fee for admission.

The bands set to perform are: Metox, Afterglows, 8 oz. Joe, Fahler, Uncle Travelling Matt, Third Degree, Bare Soles, No Offense, Slick Olde Bishops, Suffrage, Mordeccai and On The Brink.

For the contest, each band is given 20 minutes to perform. The bands will play between two stages set up in the hall. At the end of the night, three of the bands will be awarded a slot on the side stage at Movin' On. The annual outdoor festival will take place this year on Apr. 21 at Pollock Fields.

None of the acts are cover bands — they perform all original music. Also, at least one member of each band is a Penn State student.

ARHS members chose the 12 from 25 bands that submitted demos and band information to the ARHS office in the HUB until March 1. Bands were judged on originality and musical style, according to Lauren Del Valle (senior-broadcast journalism), assistant director of Movin' On.

The selected bands range in style from hip-hop to ska to jazz — a mix of "good, diverse music," Del Valle said.

Of the bands set to perform, No Offense will be the first to take the stage tomorrow night. Bassist Josh Messing (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said the band was surprised to have made the contest, given all the other good bands that tried and did not get accepted.

Eagerly preparing for tomorrow's show, No Offense doesn't have anything special planned to impress the audience and judges.

"We're just gonna go out, have fun and be crazy," Messing said. "We just hope everyone loves us."

With a Movin' On slot at hand, bands like No Offense will try their hardest to win a chance to play a venue that will help them gain exposure. Messing said the band usually performs in bars and looks forward to a different setting. Playing at Movin' On will allow the group to play to a lot of people that aren't aware of them, especially more of the college crowd.

"We'll be able to sell CDs . . . so we can record more and the vicious cycle starts."

This year's contest has the same format as its predecessor. Del Valle said the winning bands from last year's Battle of the Bands gave a great performance at Movin' On.

"The Movin' On bands brought a big group of followers to the show."

Pleased with its results so far, ARHS also plans to continue the competition next year.