Several college-aged bands are set to rock State College, as the Dragon Chaser's Emporium hosts four groups tonight at 8, including one band being lauded by mtvU as one of the best bands on a college campus.

That band is Settle, and joining them are The Disconnect, Gracer and The Juniper Wait.

Settle, a band out of Easton, is comprised of Nick Rose (guitar and vocals), Willie Rose (drums) and Dave Goletz (guitar).

The band is in the running for "Best Music on College Campus," a contest being held through mtvU and Epitaph Records.

The band made the initial cut during the first week when 25 bands were selected out of those who entered.

Settle received even more good news just this week, when it was notified by mtvU that it had been chosen as one of the last five bands in competition for the "Best Music" honor.

Exactly how the band got involved in the contest is a bit hazy.

"To be honest, I don't know how [we got involved]. We entered it back in November, but we do competitions like this all the time," Nick said.

The prizes for winning the contest include a record deal with Epitaph Records, a trip to Cancun and a video premiere on mtvU.

The band formed in 2001, but its members have been playing together almost their whole lives. Nick and Willie Rose are brothers, and both always knew they wanted to make music.

"Willie and I always played around and just kind of fooled around, jamming in the house," Nick said. "At a really young age, back when I was in high school, I started wanting to perform my songs."

The Disconnect is an instrumental four-piece band also based in Pennsylvania. Formed less than two years ago, the band is already making noise locally, having played two Roustabout! shows and a previous concert at Dragon Chaser's.

"Our shows are really high energy," Eric Shirk (senior-journalism), guitarist for The Disconnect, said. "You can really tell we have a lot of fun. We've all been friends forever, and you can definitely see that onstage."

Also set to play is Gracer, a band based primarily in upstate New York. The group is in the middle of a nationwide tour that will take them from Pennsylvania to states like North Dakota, Washington, D.C., California and Texas in the next month alone.

Gracer is signed to Revelation Records and released its full-length debut album, Voices Travel, in June 2006.

The fourth band on the bill is The Juniper Wait. The band hails from Port Clinton, Ohio. This show at Dragon Chaser's kicks off the band's winter tour, which will take the group through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan over the course of the next month.

The four bands share a common interest -- making fresh, innovative music.

"If people want honest, good bands they should come to this show," Nick said. "It's just positive, good times, and that's how rock and roll shows should be."