A bumper crowd is expected to watch the grand finale of the Shropshire Star’s £6,000 Battle of the Bands.

The five groups competing for glory are Small Time Crooks, Madison, Fight The Bear, Dezima and Enter/Exit.

Each band is planning to bring plenty of fans, friends, followers and family members along to see them play at The Buttermarket, in Shrewsbury, on Sunday at 7pm.

Tickets are available at: www.theticketsellers.co.uk, Salop Music Centre in Shrewsbury, Telford Shopping Centre and the bands taking part.

Today Samantha Hartland, manager of Madison, said: “We’re delighted that we’ve got through to the final and we’ll be giving it our best shot on Sunday.”

“It’s a great competition and the boys in the band can’t wait to get on stage to play in front of a packed Buttermarket.”

Rob Mulliner, a principal sponsor from Salop Music Centre, said £5 tickets were on sale at the shop at St Michael’s Street, in Shrewsbury.

Rob Quinn, from Small Town Crooks, said the band was honing its set in preparation for Sunday.

He said: “It’s a great gig and we’re looking forward to it. We’ll be bringing plenty of people along to see us. It’ll be a great atmosphere if we get a lot of people there.”

People can listen to music by the five bands at www.shropshirestar.com/battle

Bands stand to win the chance to play a gig in front of 5,000 fans, thousands of pounds worth of bespoke equipment, studio time, cds, advice and a photo shoot.

Sunday’s final will be judged by four independent judges who have no links with any of the competitors. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Competition sponsors:

Shropshire Music Centre – the main sponsors, offering £3,000 of band equipment www.salopmusic.co.uk

Telford FM -supporting and highlighting the entrants www.telfordfm.co.uk

A Wolf at Your Door Records – offering 100 demo discs and advice www.wolfatyourdoor.com

Soundscape Studios – offering four hours studio time http://soundscape-studios.co.uk

The Buttermarket, Shrewsbury – venue for the Battle Of The Bands finals www.buttermarket.com