If music is the thread that connects us all, then Patchwork Project is the needle sewing Columbia’s local music scene together. And it’s collecting the pieces for its second quilt.

Patchwork Project, a local eight week music competition, made its debut last fall, creating a tight-knit music scene — something Columbia hadn’t seen before.

“In my eyes, I’ve seen this progression of unity in the music scene locally,” says Adam Weber, owner of Ninth Planet Studios. “I feel like it started with Patchwork Project last year.”

The first Patchwork Project was the brainchild of Dave Kemper, administrator of the Columbia Missouri Music Scene Facebook page. This time last year, 25 applicants were randomly placed into five bands. These bands had eight weeks to produce 30 minutes of material and prepare to compete with that material for a $500 cash prize.

All five bands will battle it out at Roxy’s on Nov. 8. Attendees will receive a ticket to vote for their favorite group at the end of the night. Once the winner is announced, the rest of the evening will be a rockin’ dance party.

“It opened the door for a lot of musicians who were unknown at the time and have gone on to be more prominent members of the local music scene,” Kemper says.

The bands are random, but the Patchwork duo says they will go out of their way to place people who already play together in different bands. Each band will have a vocalist, guitarist, bassist, drummer and auxiliary instrument. The auxiliary ranges from another percussionist to a horn player.

Weber says he thinks they’ll be able to do a good job of placing people in bands with which they would want to play and have fun.

“As a musician, this is a good way to expand your repertoire,” Kemper says. “This is a good way to get your foot in the door in the music scene and get an opportunity to play with other people.”

The competition will be a bit different this year: Weber’s recording business, Ninth Planet Studios, is getting in on the action. The studio is adding a live studio video recording session to the prize package, bringing the total value up to about $800.

Weber says the idea behind their involvement is to prevent the music from fizzling out after the event, like it did last year.

Kemper and Weber are also looking for five graphic designers to create logos and promo material.

“A music scene goes beyond just the musicians involved,” Kemper says. “We’re trying to involve more than the people on stage. A band is a lot more than five dudes in a basement.”

Weber says the bands will get the full experience, from branding themselves and choosing a name to writing songs and promoting the show.

The Patchwork team is still seeking applicants, and interested musicians have until Sept. 6 to apply. The bands will be announced that evening at The Flood Brothers’ show at 8 p.m. at Roxy’s. Kemper and Weber say they’re hoping and expecting a rush of applications to come in right before submissions are due.

Weber says that skill level and experience shouldn’t be a concern for new artists looking to partake in Patchwork. He says that time should be the only concern; getting band experience is the purpose of the project.

In the words of Dave Kemper, “If you have rhythm and ambition, you can do this.”