Sugarland vs. Eli Young Band – Taste of Country March Bandness 2013, Round 1

This March Bandness matchup pits two active stars against one another in a battle to move on to Round 2. Sugarland has earned their ticket to the dance by being nominated multiple times in the Vocal Group category before becoming a duo in 2006. Even before Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush started working on their own, they were a powerful force in country music and well on their way to superstar status. 

The Eli Young Band guys have released some of the most creative songs of the past three years, and have been rewarded with ACM and CMA awards and nominations as well as back-to-back No. 1 hits and Platinum-selling singles. In a way, Mike Eli and company are still country newcomers, but longtime fans of the band know they've been hard at work for over a decade.

Who will win and move on to face either Rascal Flatts or Diamond Rio? It's up to fans to decide. You're allowed to vote once every hour. Any voter found to be outpacing that rule will be deemed ineligible, forfeiting their votes. Voting for the Round 1 matchups will end on Sunday, March 17 at 11:59PT ET.

The overall March Bandness winner for 2013 be announced on April 8, the day of the NCAA national championship basketball game.