They were already an acclaimed act on the local circuit.

Now, the owner of a Palmerton music school and his musical partners are about to become famous on a national level.

Dustin Rehrig, along with “Karen as Dolly,” were announced on Wednesday’s finale as the winner of the popular music competition series “Clash of the Cover Bands.”

They netted a cash prize of $10,000, $25,000 Ultimate Cover Band Prize Money, and will appear in studio for a musical performance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

“The experience was just crazy; obviously we’ve all been waiting for this to air, keeping this secret wasn’t easy, especially something this big,” Rehrig said. “It was a lot of fun, just to wait around and see how things were going with the TV show and how many people were watching it.”

Rehrig, who owns Off The Charts Music School in Palmerton, as well as DDR Entertainment LLC, said it wasn’t until the announcement of their win was made that it actually began to sink in.

“It was like wow, this is really happening; yesterday I think is when it really set in,” he said. “It was pretty cool to be able to be here with my family at the house, and everybody scattered around the country in the band. It was fun to get together with everybody on Zoom, (being) able to connect Zoom account through Facebook and we went live with it.”

Rehrig said the win represents his greatest achievement to date.

“For me, this is absolutely the biggest thing that’s ever happened,” he said. “I’m so humbled to be a part of this process; especially with the talent of this band, and the talent of Karen and her skills to portray Dolly Parton as she does is just unbelievable.”

Rehrig and Karen Hester, who portrays Dolly Parton, battled against “Blown Away: A Tribute to Carrie Underwood” on the Dec. 8 episode on the E! Network. The two met about eight years ago when he found her on YouTube.

Rehrig plays drums and Hester portrays Dolly Parton. The band includes brothers Jayme Lewis, bass player, and Jason Lewis on guitar, with Alfred Sheppard on piano.

“From what I’ve seen, I think it was obviously driven between our artists, Karen Hester portraying Dolly Parton. She’s just so spot on,” Rehrig said. “Our idea was really getting this phenomenal band behind her and backing this up.”

Rehrig explained how he believes the judges arrived at their decision.

“I think most of what we’ve done, and the time we put into it is what really impressed the judges,” he said. “There were no tracks to enhance it, everything that was happening on stage with us was real, and I think that’s what really hit the judges; everything was real from four guys and a girl.”

Rehrig said the opportunity came through Jimmy Fallon Productions, who is executive producer of “Clash of the Cover Bands,” a tribute show that features tribute cover bands around the country.

“Now, we just wait for (them) to pin down a date (to appear and perform on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” he said. “From what we’re hearing right now, it will be very soon.”

Twenty bands began the competition.

“Part of it is surreal; every day, it’s like this is really happening,” he said. “It was something we just did for fun, and were hoping to take the band to the next level and get the exposure that she (Hester) needs, and then to do this and wind up winning the entire season, it was like wow, we’re just living in the moment and hoping to get as many people to see what she is doing as we possibly can.”

Rehrig said the show, shot at CBS Studios in Hollywood, was similar to “American Idol” and “The Voice.”

“That was the ultimate goal of the entire project; it was to make an appearance on (“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”),” he said. “Let’s really do this right, and let’s take home this win.”

Rehrig said the win was “definitely my Christmas present.”

“Every artist, or new artist, the idea is to make it to “The Tonight Show,” he said. “The fact that we’re doing it is mind-blowing; this is the most exciting part for me is working on the arrangements and getting the stuff together for “The Tonight Show.”

The show was hosted by Stephen “tWitch” Boss with Meghan Trainor, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriters Adam Lambert and Ester Dean were celebrity judges.

“Clash of the Cover Bands” brings together the best of the best cover bands from across the country to celebrate music and the art of performance across all genres. In each of the 10 episodes, two bands of similar musical genre (e.g., Pop Divas, ’80s icons, kings of country, platinum icons, rock legends, etc.) go head-to-head over the course of two rounds to see which band has the most entertaining cover performance.

Artists covered this season include Aretha Franklin, Blink 182, Bon Jovi, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Cher, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Foo Fighters, Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, Lady Gaga, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison, Tim McGraw, Tina Turner and U2.

The series was produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Electric Hot Dog with Jimmy Fallon, Jim Juvonen, Natasha Brugler and Kelley Parker serving as executive producers.