March Bandness is a parody of the NCAA's annual National Men's Basketball Tournament. The term itself is a derivative of March Madness

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

, a term often used in conjunction with the NCAA Tournament.

March Bandness is a marketing tool employed by radio stations across the United States to promote listener interaction. There is no specific format other than it pits 64 recording artists against each other in the same style as the NCAA Tournament.

The choice of the bands may be arbitrary, or it could use a seeding system based on popularity with listeners, chart hits or a number of other parameters.

Those rewarded in the process may also differ. In some cases, artists, particularly if the focus is on local music, reap the benefit, whereas in others, the listeners are competing for prizes.

Examples (in order of longevity):

St. Louis Classic Rock's March Bandness Results (Classic Rock; 1995-1996 + 2002 to present)

The Buzz 94.7FM - Oklahoma City, OK (Modern Rock; 2003 to present)

KSHE 94.7FM - St. Louis, MO (Classic Rock; 2004 to present)

Atlanta Music Guide (local Battle of the Bands; 2005)

WCSX 94.7FM - Detroit, MI (Classic Rock; 2005 to present)