Decatur, GA — Four students from Decatur will be playing music amongst some of their idols this weekend at the Amplify Music Festival on the Decatur Square. Jitterbug will open up the festival on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Jitterbug won a Battle of the Bands competition at Eddie’s Attic in February that set the stage for them to perform at the festival. They competed against three other bands.

Playing in a band grew out of the pandemic for Hazel Patty, Claire Lobdell, Cyrus Ebrahimi and Sam Crespino. Three of them are students at Decatur High School and one of them goes to Ben Franklin Academy.

At the battle of the bands, each act performed a three song set for judges and were judged on criteria like originality, quality of the performance and the appropriateness for the festival. Ebrahimi said originality set Jitterbug apart from the other bands.

“It was the best feeling ever,” Patty added.

The families of the band members were also proud to see them win the battle of the bands and to see the perform this weekend.

“I felt so proud and excited for these kids,” said Caroline Herring, Crespino’s mom. “I have watched them practice every weekend for years, including the entirety of the pandemic. I love the camaraderie between them and how much they respect one another.”

She added that the students have worked hard and “wanted this gig with all their hearts.”

Jitterbug was formed in 2020. They practiced in Ebrahimi’s garage during the COVID-19 pandemic with the door open, socially distanced and wearing masks.

Crespino added that the idea of a band came from their parents. But they’ve stuck with it since 2020.

“I think at the start it was kind of just playing music, but also talking, being friends and just catching up,” Crespino said. “We’re more serious now, we’re really leaning into the music, but I’m glad we started off as friends and band second.”

Patty, Lobdell, Ebrahimi and Crespino first came together as a band when they were in middle school during the pandemic and at a time when life drastically changed. Now the band members are juniors in high school. Rehearsing during the pandemic also gave them a safe environment to socialize in.

“It’s been amazing to watch their talent develop and their sound evolve,” said Susan Lobdell, Claire’s mom. “It’s been even more amazing to consider how they have done all of this themselves without adults leading it. It all comes from them. And they are all just good kids, almost like siblings now, and we are all so proud of them.”

In 2020, the band started off playing folk music and has shifted to performing acoustic rock covers, among other genres.

“Now we play a lot more funk music, and we try to make things a lot more jammy, that people want to listen to,” Patty said.

She added that the band puts a twist on songs that an audience wouldn’t expect to be acoustic.

“It’s surprising when we cover songs that aren’t usually acoustic. It’s like an alternative, original take on how certain songs sound,” Ebrahimi added. “We’re taking all the elements of these big synth sounds and simplifying it to something acoustic.”

They are also working on other elements, like vocal harmonies, to fill out their sound.

“We’re making our own sound and making something that’s ours, which I think is really cool. We’re leaning into the originals, which is exciting, but I think we all can do it,” Crespino added.

Jitterbug described winning the battle of the bands as the best day ever. Preparing for the competition gave them a goal to work toward and pushed them to work hard and kick it into gear, Crespino said.

“Being in this band, music went from this thing that I practiced for 30 minutes a day to my entire life,” Lobdell added.

The band members also began to realize their potential following their win at the battle of the bands. The experience helped them figure out creating a schedule, setting goals, staying on track and figure out their sound.

Jitterbug will perform on Saturday, April 13, as part of the Amplify Music Festival on the Decatur Square. They will open up the festival on that day and perform ahead of Run Katie Run, Blind Boys of Alabama, Dawes and Melissa Etheridge.

“I was really excited knowing that we’re going to open for Melissa Etheridge. That’s insane,” Ebrahimi said.

Jitterbug performs cover songs and has begun writing and performing original songs as well. Their set list for the Amplify Music Festival will feature a few original songs, as well as covers.

“Since Battle of the Bands, it was the first time we performed an original,” Lobdell said. “We have a few that we’re doing this time around, so we’re just now getting into originals, but we are still mostly cover songs.”

Ebrahimi added that Amplify will be the first time they are performing multiple original songs.

Some of the band members grew up listening to Etheridge and Dawes. They are looking forward to performing before and getting to meet some of the musical inspirations.

“It’s exciting for all of us to play for people that we’ve grown up listening to and have inspired our musical careers,” Patty said.

Crespino described the opportunity as “unfathomable” and is excited to see to be able to watch accomplished musicians and be around them, he said.

Susan Lobdell added that Jitterbug performances are fun and Amplify Decatur supports local causes as well.

“People will love seeing these local kids show off their talents through a combo of their own original songs and really creative covers,” she said.

Amplify will be the largest crowd Jitterbug has played for so far. While it’s nerve-racking, they are looking forward to playing for their hometown.

“It’s exciting and scary because it’s the biggest thing for us,” Patty said. “[I’m looking forward to] seeing all of the incredible people and being able to be in our hometown and play and join all of the incredible musicians that we’ve looked up to,” Patty said.

The parents are looking forward to seeing the love of the crowd and to see their children play the first big show.

“I think Amplify is an incredible resource for the community,” John Patty said. “Also, this is just another wonderful example of how the arts and music scene around here is truly homegrown and growing. We and Hazel love living in Atlanta – we moved here from Chicago 6 years ago, and just love how vibrant the city and people are. Amplify is just another example of that kind of excitement and community-gathering.”

Crespino added that he thought it was cool for Amplify to have a teen band from Decatur play at the festival.

“I hope we can say this is Decatur, and we can make people proud,” Crespino said.

For more information about the Amplify Decatur festival, click here.

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