The annual competition, which in the past has made winners of Delorentos (pictured) and Lotus Lullaby (now The Gift), will hold its final on Thursday 26 April at The Village, Dublin.
Battling it out are Monitor and Saviours Of Space from the Cork heat, Vamos and The Arrangements from the Galway heat, and The Kinetics and Albyno Rhyno from the Dublin heat.
"Overall, the standard has been better than last year," says organiser Dave Reid, who also co-manages the Choice Music Prize. "It's great to see all different types of bands represented, and with a good geographical spread too. It shows how healthy the music scene is."
Also entertaining the crowd at the event are Mullingar's The Blizzards, who return to live duties for the night, after their sell-out Irish tour in March.
They'll be on while the judges - including Neil Dunphy of the Sunday Tribune, Ron Healy of IrishUnsigned.com and our very own Stuart Clark - mull over who'll win the top prize of at Hot Press interview, a cash prize from IMRO, extensive recording time at Religion Music Studios, CD duplication with Easy Duplication; rehearsal time and a day with a solicitor. Phew!
"I've just spoken to the bands arnd they're raring to go," Dave Reid continues. "A couple might find it difficult to show everything they have in the 15 minutes they're allocated, but that's what happens when there's six bands competing."
...And at least that way, the audience won't have time for their minds to wander!
Tickets for the show are €12.50, available from Ticketmaster and all usual outlets.
Find out more about the National Student Music Awards here.