7-Eleven® Kicks Off 'Slurpee® Battle of the Bands' on 7/11 Day

DALLAS, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Twelve from a field of 906 home-grown rock and popular bands have been named the most deserving performers and will compete in this year's 7-Eleven® and Slurpee® Battle of the Bands (BOTB) contest that kicks off July 11 (7-Eleven stores' recognized birthday).

Starting this Sunday, the musical groups will begin showcasing their talents and competing for semi-finalist status at four regional concerts.  The first takes place Sunday at 7 p.m. PT in Los Angeles at The House of Blues on Sunset Strip where three of the bands will open for a performance by Train, the Grammy Award-winning rock group from San Francisco.    

The other venues where the remaining BOTB competitors contend in groups of three with each playing three songs are:

• Chicago – July 23  at 7 p.m. CT at The House of Blues in Chicago – leading up to music by All Time Low, an American pop punk band from Baltimore
• Dallas – Aug. 6  at 7 p.m. CT at The House of Blues in Dallas – before a performance by B.o.B., an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer from Atlanta
• New York – Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. ET at Irving Plaza in New York – opening for N.E.R.D., a genre-bending alternative hip hop group from Virginia, fronted by Pharrell Williams

Fans can view all performances live online on Slurpee's Facebook fanpage (www.facebook.com/Slurpee) and then vote at Slurpee.com for their favorite band for three days immediately after each event.   Also, one song from each competing band's performance will be posted on Slurpee.com.  The group with the winning votes from each of the four events will continue on to the next round of competition.  

Four semi-finalist bands will travel to Dallas where they will each have three days to create music videos with amateur video crews.   Their music videos will be shown on Slurpee.com.  Again, fans will vote for their favorite music videos.  The two winners from this challenge will battle it out when each performs a special engagement in their respective home towns.  Live video of their performances will be streamed on the Slurpee Facebook fanpage.  Fan votes will be collected over two days and the winner will be announced on Sept. 30 on Slurpee.com.   

The top band will receive the grand prize of $10,000 and a chance to record in-studio and be featured on Wolfgangsvault.com.

Concert event tickets are on sale through Live Nation for $7.11.  Tickets for the Train and All Time Low concerts are on sale now; B.o.B. performance tickets go on sale July 9, and the start of N.E.R.D. concert ticket sales is not yet determined.  

The current top 12 bands competing for the "Slurpee Battle of the Bands" title and the grand prize along with their hometowns are:

• Ambience, San Jose, CA
• Burning Tree, St. Petersburg, FL
• Don't Shoot The Messenger, Arlington, TX
• Fancy Me Yet , Miami, FL
• Levi Ware, Seattle, WA
• News Team Assemble, Dallas, TX
• Northpilot, Chicago, IL
• Not Like This, Saint Paul, MN
• Talain Rayne, Phoenixville, PA
• The Banana Convention, Saginaw, MI
• The Hollabacks, Los Angeles, CA
• The Welcome Home, Portland, OR

"Slurpee and music have a natural affinity for each other," said Evan Brody, 7-Eleven marketing manager for Slurpee and Big Gulp® brands.  "They're such a big part of summer fun for teens and young adults, whether it's stadium concerts, music festivals or just blasting your radio with the top down. "

"We've had Slurpee summer music promotions before, but last year's Battle of the Bands really struck a chord," he added.  "The number of entries in this year's contest just exploded, and it's going to be an exciting summer for music fans to discover new bands."    

About 7-Eleven, Inc.

7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses close to 8,200 7-Eleven® stores in North America.  Globally, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 38,000 stores in 16 countries.  During 2009, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $58.9 billion.  7-Eleven has been honored by a number of companies and organizations recently.  Accolades include:  #3 spot on Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 list for 2009, #3 in Forbes magazine's Top 20 Franchises to Start, #3 among Top 100 Global Franchises by Franchise Direct, #3 in Store Growth by Convenience Store News, #2 in Franchise Times Top 200 Franchise Companies and #29 among Top 100 Chains in Food Service.  In addition, Hispanic Magazine named 7-Eleven in its Hispanic Corporate Top 100 Companies that provide the most opportunities to Hispanics.  7-Eleven recently was selected by three diversity publications as a company offering the best career and franchisee opportunities.  7-Eleven is franchising its stores in the U.S., and is expanding through organic growth, acquisitions and its Business Conversion Program. In addition, the company received the 2009 Shopper-Centric Marketing Innovation from Symphony IRI and the 2010 Retailer of the Year award from PL Buyer because of the company's private-label brand program.  Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.

SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc.