Wellington's ELK victorious at the 2019 Battle of the Bands

ELK, the winner of the 2019 Battle of the Bands

14 bands from around New Zealand faced off over two nights at the 24th Battle of the Bands National Finals at Auckland's Anthology Lounge over the weekend.

But it was Wellington rock 'n' roll band ELK who emerged victorious to claim the title as winners of the hard fought - and hard rocking - competition.

ELK, who describe themselves as "New Zealand's sexiest rock'n'roll band,", impressed the judges with their untamed authenticity and high octane performance.

The band, who are touring Asia, Australia and New Zealand next year, also won Best Drummer and were joint co-winners of the Best Songwriters award with fellow Wellingtonians Dream State Empire.

The Vermillion Poets, also from Wellington, took home second place while Auckland three piece Glass Throne took the bronze. The Wellingtonians were also awarded Best Vocalist while the Aucklanders also received the nod for Best Guitarist.

Other awards went to Dunedin's Efflorescent for Best Bassist, Hamilton's Artininian for Best Instrumentalist and Auckland's Glow Becky for Most Passionate Performers.