Battle of the Bands Championship Round

The Joeys and The Rebel Set are the final two left in The Arizona Republic's Battle of the Bands, and it's up to you to decide who takes it. The championship round is an online vote that runs through Sunday, Nov. 1, with the winning band going on to play a USA TODAY Network Acoustic mini-concert filmed at The Republic. Voting closes at 9:59 PM that night.

It's been a long road to get here. The contest started as a March Madness-style bracket poll with 60 artists plus write-in candidates. From there, the top 14 vote-getters and two write-ins moved into the bracket, which whittled the field down to these two. The Rebel Set entered as a write-in and beat fellow write-in Prince Mirth in the Final Four, while The Joeys beat Victoria Bigelow to secure their spot. The ballot deliberately excludes acts whose fame transcends the local scene, so you won't find names like Jimmy Eat World, The Maine, or Authority Zero in the mix.

On one side, you've got The Rebel Set, formed in 2006 by singer-guitarist Joe Zimmerman. Their sound is built on reverb-drenched guitar twang inspired by Duane Eddy and 1960s garage punk, with Katey Wilkins adding Farfisa organ to the mix. On the other, The Joeys are a local rockabilly trio. Their new EP, Sonoran Dreams, carries a Southwestern twang and a swaggering cover of Elvis Presley's "Love Me," played on a hollow-body Gretsch Chet Atkins model. It's a matchup of two different takes on guitar-driven roots music—one leaning toward garage punk and the other toward rockabilly.

If you've been following the bracket, this is the last call. You can cast your vote online at The Arizona Republic through Sunday, Nov. 1, before the window closes at 9:59 PM.