All four Greene County high schools won first- or second-place awards in the Greeneville Band Classic held Saturday at Tusculum College's Pioneer Field.

Marching bands from Chuckey-Doak, North Greene, South Greene and West Greene high schools were among the 16 bands from three states that competed in the sixth annual event.

Forecasted rain caused attendance to be down slightly from last year, according to event chairman Kay Grissom.

Still, more than 1,000 spectators attended, and only light drizzle fell sporadically throughout the event.

Powell High School, from Powell, Tenn., was named "grand champion" for its salute to cinematic heroes, including Spiderman, X-Men, Batman, The Incredibles and James Bond.

The 158-member band's performance, a crowd favorite, featured a gigantic banner with the Batman symbol.

(On their way home to Knox County, one of Powell's buses carrying students and parents was in an accident that injured four students, according to the Web site of Knoxville television station WBIR.

The wreck occurred shortly before midnight on W. Emory Road in Knox County, according to the Web site.

Knox County Schools spokesperson Melissa Copelan said four students and one parent were taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, according to the Web site, www.wbir.com.)

The seven hours of band performances began with the National Anthem played by the Greeneville Middle School eighth-graders and concluded with an exhibition by the Greeneville High School band, the event host.

Saturday was the first time in the event's history that all four county high school bands competed. Last year, North Greene performed the National Anthem but did not compete.

This year, North Greene was named first-place band in Class A-1, and South Greene was named second-place band in the same class.

South Greene won first-place awards for percussion and color guard.

North Greene won second place awards for percussion, drum major and color guard.

Cloudland, the only other band in Class A-1, won first place for drum major.

Chuckey-Doak and West Greene were among five high schools in Class A-2, the largest class of the event.

West Greene won first-place band, along with first-place awards for drum major and color guard and second place for percussion.

Chuckey-Doak won second place for drum major.

Morristown-Hamblen High School West was named champion of the eight bands in classes A-1 and A-2, and Powell was named champion of the eight bands in classes AA, AAA and AAAA.

The participating bands from East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and North Carolina ranged in size from 25 to 170 members, according to Grissom.

North Greene's band, under the direction of Jessica Gass, performed the greatest hits from Styx, including "Grand Illusion," "Renegade," "The Best of Times," "Too Much Time On My Hands," and "Come Sail Away."

South Greene's band, under the direction of Michael Douty, performed "The Open Road." The program's five songs are: "On the Road Again," "Route 66," "That Lonesome Road," "Life Is a Highway," and "Hit the Road Jack."

West Greene's band, under the direction of Matt Williams, performed "The Civil War: A Torn America." The program features four songs: "Fanfare for the Common Man," "American Salute," "Asholcan Farewell," and "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Chuckey-Doak's band, under the direction of Jamie Walker, performed "Men in Black," including five songs: "The Dark Knight," "Phantom of the Opera," "James Bond," "Zorro," and "Men in Black."

Other competing bands were from: Carter, Central, Farragut, Pigeon Forge, Seymour, Sullivan East and Unicoi County high schools, all in East Tennessee; Enka High School in Candler, N.C., and Patrick Henry High School in Glade Springs, Va.

Nine judges from Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia scored the bands on music effect, music performance, visual effect, visual performance, their drum majors, color guards and majorettes.

Two clinicians then reviewed tapes of the performances with the bands in the nearby indoor practice facility and gave advice on areas that could be improved.

Grissom thanked all the Greeneville band parents, Greeneville Band Boosters members, GHS and GMS students, and GHS and GMS band directors David Price and Brooke Rhea for their hard work to make the event a success.

She also thanked Tusculum College for allowing the event to be held on its campus.

The event was dedicated in memory of Kim Hall Williams, a band parent and dedicated member of the Greeneville Band Boosters who died in June after battling a long-term illness.

Plans are for the seventh annual Greeneville Band Classic to be held on Oct. 2, 2010.

For more information, visit www.gcschools.net/tusculum/band/main.htm.