Bands all over the country are ready to battle it out in the finals, of this leg of the Guinness 'Our Thursdays' competition. Galway and Northern Ireland will be hosting their finals on August 12.

Among the 'Our Thursdays' venues, Scraggs Alley in Carlow will be lively with The J-Walkers, Mark Buckridge and The Boondalk Saints battling it out for the top prize of playing with Snow Patrol on Aurther's Day, September 23.

Fresh from playing CastlePalooza last weekend, Hot Press competition winners TKO, will be facing off with Soundsystem and Maud In Cahoots in Buskers in Dublin tonight. Elsewhere around the country, Keith Mullins and Band and Ultan Conlon will take to the stage in The Blue Note in Galway to see who will go forward to the final round.

As the search narrows, the pressure is on for all the bands involved to give a top performance each night, so find yourself a bar stool, and get involved, help find the winner.

For a full list of gigs and venues, go to [link]http://www.hotpress.com/ourthursdays/[/link]