By Karen Hall

Editor

A young woman from Murfreesboro was crowned the winner of the Petersburg Lions Club's first-ever Battle of the Bands, held Saturday in Lions Pride Park as part of the Heritage Festival.

Sarah Guy, 23, now lives in Nashville, and works at BMI on Music Row. Her dream is to be a singer/songwriter.

"That's why I moved to Nashville," she said. Guy intends to spend the $500 prize money on a demo. She has been singing since she was 14, but this is the first real contest she has won.

"There are no losers today," said judge Mark Young, as he announced the results. "Everyone's a winner for showing up today."

Placing second was a family gospel group from Savannah, Tenn., Accents of Praise, made up of parents Eric and Rachel Isbell, 12-year-old Autumn, and 10-year-old Kaleb.

Third was Landfall, a rock band from Shelbyville. The three members are all in their early 20s, but lead guitarist Jonathan Rodriguez and drummer Quan Hardin have been playing together for nine years. About six months ago they teamed up with bass guitarist Justin Berry to form Landfall.

Placing fourth by one point was the Five-O Band, made up of six local men: Troy Adams, Paul Bevels, Paul Braden, Worley McKinney, Mike Mills, and Tony Williams. They play classic country and '60s rock and roll. At fourth, they received no prize money, but Young immediately offered them the opportunity to play at the VFW and get paid for it.

In addition, the organizers and producers voted to give a special award for "Most Promising Young Talent" to Marina Poole of McBurg. She sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to start the day, and also competed.

Saturday was the first chilly day of fall, and most of the vendors had packed up and gone home by 3 p.m., but the Zero Gravity ride was still attracting thrill-seeking children, and two faithful ponies continued to give rides. Warmly wrapped up music lovers, however, stayed until the bitter end, applauding generously.

By the time the Five-O Band had put their equipment away, and the awards had been announced, there was only a short time to wait for it to be dark enough for the fireworks to begin.

Ideally set up in a sloping field opposite the site of the Festival, Petersburg native Michael Head put on spectacular fireworks show.

Next year, said Lions Club member Terry Tudor, he hopes the Festival can be held earlier in the fall, when the weather is likely to be warmer.