year's winning act to the newly crowned champion. Eligibility While no band applies to play the Rumble, there are certain requirements for consideration. They include, but are not limited to: Band or artist must have sent music to, and received airplay by, local music director Band or artist should be established in the music community and actively playing out in the area. Band or artist must have released a recording, EP or full-length, within the past calendar year. Judging criteria As of 2012, The Rumble uses 45 judges (barring unforeseen circumstances), five for each night for the nine nights of competition. Each evening there are representatives from the music business, local media, and on-air personalities from local radio judging the bands. The judges observe each band and numerically score each 30-minute set. At the end of the night, the judges' scores are tallied two ways: a straight tally of all judges' scores; and a tally throwing out the high and low scores, using the middle scores as a backup in case of a tie or in the rare case of extreme bias in either direction. This method is intended to protect the bands against judging anomalies in the long run. As of 2014, the judging criteria were slightly revised, based on the discovery of a score card from 1981; the most notable change was the addition of a "stage presence" category. In 2017 the "Bonus" category changed from optional to mandatory. 1. Material: Were songs good, memorable? Did they all sound the same? (possible 1–10 points) 2. Playing Effectiveness: How well did the band play? Were they tight? Intriguing? How did the band represent their genre? (possible 1–10 points) 3. Vocal Effectiveness: How well did vocals (lead & backups) contribute to & enhance band? (possible 1–10 points) 4. Timing: Did band use set time wisely? Did set flow? Did it build in intensity? Did band stop too long? Were they on time? (possible 1–10 points) 5. Stage Presence: How did band present itself? Mannerisms? Banter? Were they fun to watch? Did they interact? Did crowd respond? (possible 1–10 points) 6. Bonus: Category to grant extra points based on any judge's discretion, or the intangibles not covered above; an explanation is requested from the judge. (possible 1–5 points) History * = wildcard from preliminary round ‡ = wildcard from semifinal round x = withdrew from competition § = runner-up in preliminary