The Battle Wages On at the Land O' Lakes Library

The bands were separated from the crowd by a row of tiny chairs; picture books filled the shelves behind them.

The Land O' Lakes library turned up the volume in the the children's section as four of the Rockus Maximus XV competitors performed Friday night.

Patrons walking into the library near show time were greeted—and warned.

"Are you here for the concert? I'm just making sure all the adults coming in know it's about to get loud in there," I was told.

(Confession: I was a little disappointed to be recognized as a grownup.)

Open Box Policy opened the show, followed by Braille & Color, Hepburn & The Hooligan and Lights At Night.

Lights at Night lead singer Marina Young had strep throat, so the band improvised with instrumental versions of their music. A photo of Young was taped to the microphone.

Solo artist John Gold kept the crowd going between sets.

The Pasco County Library System sponsors the Rockus Maximus XV competition, which features eight bands with a majority of members under 21 years old, hailing from Pasco County and beyond.

The main event kicks off at 6 p.m. March 23 at Rotary Pavilion @ The Concourse, 15325 Alric Pottberg Road (1/4 mile west of the Suncoast Parkway on SR-52) in Shady Hills. Admission is free.

The winning band will take home $1,000 and 10 hours of free recording time at Morrisound Studio in Tampa.

There also is an online voting competition under way. The band with the most online votes  wins a $500 gift card from Encore Music. A $250 card goes to the band with the second highest number of online votes.

To find out more about Rockus Maximus XV or to vote in the online competition, visit the battle’s website. You can vote as often as you like.

Land O’ Lakes Patch and New Port Richey Patch are sponsors of the event, along with Rasmussen College, Morrisound Recording and Encore Music. Both editors will be among the judges at the final battle.