A war is coming to WSU, but the only things likely to be injured are some egos.

SEB will host the 10th annual “Battle of the Bands” at 6 p.m. today in the CUB Senior Ballroom.

Out of the 17 bands who applied, eight were chosen to perform in the event, said Liz Lin, concert director with the SEB.

The final bands were selected by the concert committee based off criteria like musical ability, originality and overall impression, Lin said. Every artist performing at the concert is either from Washington or the surrounding states and not signed with a label, she continued.

“It’s important that we support unsigned bands and give them a stage to perform on,” Lin said. “Things like this help get them new fans.”

Each band will have 15 minutes to show the audience why they’re the best, Lin said. When the event is over, students can vote for their favorite with a live text poll, and the winner will be decided through a combination of their votes and the opinion of a panel of judges, she said.

The winning band will receive $500, as well as the opportunity to play at Kazzusapalousa, a music festival taking place April 18 at the BellTower in downtown Pullman.

The participating bands are diverse in genres and sounds, from the experimental rock of Mother Yeti to the observational verses of rapper K-Rad.

This is Mother Yeti’s second time participating in the event, said the band’s drummer, William J. Tracy.

“It’s gonna be a fair contest, they certainly selected good acts to compete this year,” he said.

The Moscow-based band just released its self-titled EP five months ago and drew inspiration from a variety of genres, Tracy said.

“As long as it sounds good, and we have fun, we’ll do it,” Tracy said, “but we do like to rock.”

Kellan Faker-Boyle, a broadcasting major at Gonzaga University who performs hip-hop under the name K-Rad, said he will be joined on-stage for his performance by his disc jockey, as well as a guitar player and drummer.

Faker-Boyle released his first album, “Nerd Eyes,” last year, and said he drew a lot of inspiration from the people and stories he experiences day-to-day.

“I talk a lot about social duties and themes of being real and just being yourself,” Faker-Boyle said.

“Battle of the Bands” is free for all to attend, and the doors open at 5 p.m.