THE Charter Hall will be rocking loudly tonight (Thursday) as the cream of local musical talent perform to get the third Okehampton Battle of the Bands competition underway. The bill for tonight?s first heat features: The Roulettes, Bionic Compromise, Cowslap, Down But Not Out, The Luscious Rickys, The Nine, Ben Broom and Entropy. The running order will be decided by drawing lots at the start of the night. Organiser Richard Appleby of Millennium Music advises people to get along early as the heat gets underway at 6.30pm, so they don?t risk missing the next big thing. The event is free of charge but the capacity of the hall is limited so tickets will be issued on the door. Richard said: ?I am absolutely over the moon the excitement of the event is nearly here again. The event has grown from year to year. ?The groups like it because they know they are going to be well treated and well supported. The event is friendly with a special atmosphere supplied by the audience. It is a very genuine thing.? There will be a bar and hot food available on the night. There will be two further heats with the winners and runners up going forward to take part in the Battle of the Bands grand final which takes place in Simmons Park on Saturday, August 12. The event will be headlined by legendary 60s group The Animals, best known for their hit The House of the Rising Sun. Okehampton town clerk Don Bent said: ?The town council is delighted to be involved again with the Battle of the Bands. It will become an event in the town?s diary and I think that is just brilliant.?