If it’s April in Decatur, it’s time for the Amplify Decatur Music Festival—our hometown’s renowned concert series, which draws nationally and internationally touring bands to the downtown square every year, all while strengthening our community.
This year’s main event offers an eclectic lineup that includes St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Patty Griffin, James McMurtry, The Suffers, and more. The Saturday festival will also feature Town Mountain, Jackson County Line and The Sundogs. Tickets are $75 for general admission, $195 for VIP and $275 for premium VIP.
Amplify Decatur will also host a series of free events in and around the downtown Decatur Square on Friday, April 28, including Tumbling Dice—The Ultimate Tribute to The Rolling Stones, and a tribute to Elliot Smith at Waller’s Coffee Shop on the evening of Sunday, April 30.
Amplify Decatur is presented by Lenz and produced in partnership with Eddie’s Attic. Proceeds will be directed to Decatur Cooperative Ministry (DCM), Decatur Education Foundation (DEF), and Giving Kitchen to aid their vital missions. Since 2011, Amplify My Community has produced more than 120 concerts and raised and donated more than $550,000— including more than $335,000 in Decatur.
Meet the bands
St. Paul & The Broken Bones
St. Paul & the Broken Bones burst into the world with their 2014 debut Half the City, establishing a sound that quickly became a calling card and landing the band critical praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, SPIN and NPR – and tours with some of the world’s biggest artists: Elton John and The Rolling Stones among them, presenting what Esquire touted as a "potent live show that knocks audiences on their ass." Their new LP, “Angels in Science Fiction,” stretches their limbs further afield, building on the shadowy psychedelia and intricate, experimental R&B of 2022’s The Alien Coast.
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin is among the most consequential singer-songwriters of her generation, a quintessentially American artist whose wide-ranging canon incisively explores the intimate moments and universal emotions that bind us together. Over the course of two decades, the two-time Grammy Award winner and seven-time nominee has crafted a remarkable body of work in progress that prompted the New York Times to hail her for “[writing] cameo-carved songs that create complete emotional portraits of specific people…[her] songs have independent lives that continue in your head when the music ends.”
James McMurtry
According to Stephen King, “The simple fact is that James McMurtry may be
the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation.” In McMurtry’s latest effort, “The Horses and the Hounds,” the acclaimed songwriter backs personal narratives with effortless elegance (“Canola Fields”) and endless energy (“If It Don’t Bleed”). His 10th studio album spotlights a seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns toward reflection (“Vaquero”) and revelation (closer “Blackberry Winter”).
The Suffers
“How do we heal from this?” Kam Franklin asks on The Suffers’ explosive new album, “It Starts With Love.” It’s a loaded question without any clear answers, a painful reckoning with the open wounds of racial violence and trauma that continue to plague this nation as we lurch forward from one tragedy to the next, swearing things will change each time, only to watch the same scenes play out over and over again. “They keep breaking us like we can’t feel,” Franklin continues. “We’ve all been shouting out since Emmett Till.”
Town Mountain
Raw, soulful and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain has earned raves for their hard-driving sound, their in-house songwriting and the honky tonk edge that permeates their exhilarating live performances.
Jackson County Line Formed in 2006, Jackson County Line offers ear-sticking songwriting laced with cello, hypnotically placed ambience, tangible hooks and toe-tapping power grooves. Fans of Jason Isbell, Lucinda Williams, and Wilco will love this band.
The Sundogs
Brothers Lee and Will Haraway formed The Sundogs in Atlanta in the early 2000s and quickly gained attention for the melodic, Americana rock ‘n’ roll sound of their records and for their high-energy live shows.
Strengthening our community
Since 2011, Amplify has donated more than $550,000 to community nonprofits, including more than $335,000 in Decatur. Here are the 2023 beneficiaries:
Decatur Cooperative Ministry’s mission is to help families facing homelessness settle into safe, stable homes and build healthy lives filled with peace, hope and opportunity. Founded in 1969, Decatur Cooperative Ministry (DCM) offers transitional housing, shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing programs.
Decatur Education Foundation works together with the City Schools of Decatur, Decatur Housing Authority and City of Decatur to bolster community efforts and ensure that all students have the resources, opportunities and experiences in order to foster their growth and ensure their academic success.
Giving Kitchen provides emergency assistance for food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources.
Band Schedule
2:15 The Sundogs
3:00 Jackson County Line
4:00 Town Mountain
5:00 James McMurtry
6:30 The Suffers
7:45: Patty Griffin
9:30 St. Paul & the Broken Bones
Additionally, Friday, April 28 will feature free performances around the Decatur square.
It begins at 7 p.m. Friday, April 28 with a concert at the gazebo featuring, “Tumbling Dice: The Ultimate Tribute to The Rolling Stones.” The folk duo Ghoststories opens the show.
The weekend concert series wraps at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 30 with a tribute to Eliot Smith at Waller’s Coffee Shop. Tickets are $10.
