Our favorite seasonal tradition is back again this year! The enormously generous folks at Decatur Package Store are once again holding their Van Winkle rare whiskey sale and 100% of the proceeds are being given to Amplify My Community. We can’t believe our good fortune.

Here’s how it works:

• On December Friday, December 4, and/or Saturday, December 5, head over to DPS (1220 Clairmont Rd., Decatur, GA 30030).
• The sale begins at 9 a.m. 
• Once there, form an orderly line at the door.
• We limit one bottle per customer (though you may go back to the end of the line for a second bottle if we haven’t sold out for the day).
• DPS has split the bottles evenly between the two sale days (see below for the full list).
• Any unsold bottles on Friday will be added to Saturday.

Amplify will be selling the items directly to you. You’ll pay us directly, receive a donation letter, if you choose, and receive the product.

Here’s the final lineup by day:

Friday Auction Items – 21 bottles

George T Stagg – $500
Thomas Handy Rye – $425
Sazerac Rye 18yr – $1,200
Old Rip Van Winkle 10yr – $575
Van Winkle 12yr – $630
Van Winkle 15yr – $1,600
Van Winkle 23yr – $2,300
2020 Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edit. – $400
2018 Four Roses 130th Small Batch Limited Edit. (SIGNED) – $400
Elijah Craig 18yr – $250
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon – $625
2020 Parker’s Heritage – $375
Old Fitzgerald 14yr Fall 2020 – $350

Saturday Auction Items – 21 bottles
George T Stagg – $500
EH Taylor 18yr Marriage – $1,600
Old Rip Van Winkle 10yr – $575
Van Winkle 12yr – $630
Van Winkle 15yr – $1,600
Van Winkle Rye 13yr – $1,300
2020 Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edit. – $400
2019 Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edit. – $350
Elijah Craig 18yr – $250
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon – $625
2020 Parker’s Heritage – $375
Old Fitzgerald 14yr Fall 2020 – $350

Again, Herb at DPS is directing all profits from this incredible sale to Amplify to help continue our work to alleviate homelessness and poverty in our communities. So, you’ll be able to get your holiday shopping done and win some major karmic points!

Amplify My Community is proud to introduce its Summer Streaming Series, a twice-monthly live stream music event featuring performances by a collection of the very best local and regional singers, songwriters, and bands.

The inaugural concert will be held June 11 at 8:30 p.m. EST and feature Ghost Stories: A collaborative project with an ever-revolving door of artists and musical styles. At the helm is Jared Humphries, formerly of award-winning band Jared&Amber.

The shows will be broadcast live on Amplify’s Facebook page from Waller’s Coffee Shop in Decatur, Georgia, every other Thursday at 8:30 p.m. this summer!

Viewers will be encouraged to financially support Amplify’s mission of leveraging the universal love of music to fight poverty and homelessness at the local level.

Here’s is the schedule, so far:

June 11 – Ghost Stories
June 25 – Slow Parade
July 9 – Kristen Englenz
July 23 – Mike Killeen

…and more to come!

Hope to (virtually) see y’all there!

Tickets are now on sale for the fifth annual Amplify Decatur Music Festival, part of the Amplify Decatur Concert Series. The festival takes place Saturday, April 25, 2020 on the downtown Decatur Square and features Grammy Award Winner Indigo Girls, as well as Son Volt, The Cactus Blossoms Duo, and Michelle Malone. This intimate and unique festival invites Americana and roots rock fans to enjoy a day of food from local Decatur restaurants, craft beer offerings from Three Taverns Brewery and Creature Comforts Brewing Co., and community. The festival is presented by Lenz, produced in partnership with Eddie’s Attic, and benefits Decatur Cooperative Ministry.

General Admission tickets are $55, VIP tickets are $155, and a limited number of Premium VIP tickets are $275. VIP tickets include seating, a dedicated bar, and bathroom, and are positioned in front of the General Admission section. The Premium VIP section includes seating positioned directly in front of the stage, and includes access to the VIP section. Fans can purchase tickets at AmplifyDecatur.org and EddiesAttic.com.

As always, 100 percent of net proceeds from the festival, including ticket sales, will be directed to Decatur Cooperative Ministry (DCM) to support its ongoing efforts to prevent and alleviate homelessness in Decatur and DeKalb County. Amplify’s concerts have generated more than $235,000 to DCM since 2011.

“Through the power of live music, Amplify seeks to raise money and awareness for Decatur Cooperative Ministry in their efforts to eradicate homelessness,” said Drew Robinson, board president of Amplify My Community. “Thanks largely to the city of Decatur, Eddie’s Attic, and so many sponsors, especially Lenz, we are able to fulfill our mission, while strengthening our community.”

Additionally, the 2020 Amplify Decatur Concert Series will feature a free concert on the Decatur Square on Friday night, April 24, as well as three nights of music at Eddie’s Attic, April 24-26. Artists will be announced soon.

In addition to Lenz, Leafmore Group, Decatur Package Store, and Natalie Gregory & Co. are major sponsors. Three Taverns and Creature Comforts are also major sponsors and will be the exclusive beer providers for the festival.

“Amplify, with Lenz’s support, continues growing its mission to help the neediest among us,” said Richard J. Lenz, president and CEO of Lenz. “We are especially excited with the ambition behind this year’s effort and the artists that are participating, and hope it grows the awareness, funding, and positive vibe we aim for every year.”

The 2020 Amplify Decatur Music Festival featuring Indigo Girls, Son Volt, The Cactus Blossoms Duo, and Michelle Malone. 3-11 p.m. April 25. $55-$275. Decatur Square, corner of Church Street and E. Ponce De Leon Avenue, Decatur, Ga. AmplifyDecatur.org, EddiesAttic.com.

About the artists

Indigo Girls – Amy Ray and Emily Saliers first met as fifth and sixth-graders in Decatur, Georgia and began singing together during high school. Originally billed as Saliers & Ray, the pair adopted the name Indigo Girls during their undergraduate days at Atlanta’s Emory University. They burst into the spotlight with their 1989 self-titled breakout album. Since then, the band has racked up a slew of Gold and Platinum records, taken home a coveted Grammy Award, and earned the respect of high profile peers-turned-collaborators from Michael Stipe to Joan Baez. NPR’s “Mountain Stage” called the group “one of the finest folk duos of all time,” while Rolling Stone said they “personify what happens when two distinct sensibilities, voices, and worldviews come together to create something transcendently its own,” and The New York Times raved that “gleeful profanities, righteous protest anthems and impeccable folk songwriting have carried this duo for 30 years.”

Son Volt – Led by founder Jay Farrar (Uncle Tupelo), Son Volt remain an acclaimed, influential name in the alternative country genre. With nine studio albums to its credit since 1994, Son Volt is currently performing in support of its latest release, “Union.” A reinvigorated band chemistry anchors the new record, with new and returning members turning up in the “Union” mix. The 13 new songs written by Farrar confront our turbulent politics and articulate the clarity and comfort music can offer in the tumult. “There are so many forces driving our country apart,” observes Farrar. “What can we do to bring our society back together?”

The Cactus Blossoms Duo – Minneapolis-based brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey deliver a deceptively unadorned musical approach that offers “creative turns of phrase, gorgeous harmonies, and an ageless sound” (NPR, “All Things Considered”), not to mention spine tingles aplenty. Their 2016 debut “You’re Dreaming,” a stunning and transporting collection of original songs, earned high praise from Rolling Stone and Vice Noisey, tour stints with Kacey Musgraves and Lucius, and a perfectly cast performance on the third season of David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks.” Now their unlikely rise continues with the album “Easy Way.”

Michelle Malone – Compared to most musical artists in the Americana genre, Malone seems like a pair of distressed blue jeans amidst a sea of pantsuits. She’s had her share of success, courtesy of some 15 studio albums, her own independent SBS Records label, numerous top flight film and TV soundtracks, kudos from the critics and collaborations with a remarkable roster of amazing artists, among them, the late Gregg Allman, ZZ Top, Ellen DeGeneres and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Chuck Leavell, the master keyboardist who has backed both the Rolling Stones and the Allman Brothers, cited her as “one of the best female vocalists I’ve ever heard.” It’s little wonder that Guitar World once hailed Malone as “equal parts guitar slinger and sweet songstress, with masterful lyrical introspection – sublime to raucous.”

Amplify My Community was founded in 2010 and is based in Decatur, Georgia. Its mission is to leverage the universal love of music to fight poverty at the local level. To date, Amplify has produced more than 70 concerts and raised and donated more than $345,000 in unrestricted gifts to locally oriented anti-homelessness and poverty-focused organizations — including more than $235,000 in Decatur. Amplify has held concert series in Atlanta, Athens, Decatur, Suwanee, and Duluth, Georgia; Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charlottesville, Virginia.

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. DMC’s programs span the entire spectrum of currently recognized homelessness interventions. To accomplish this, DCM partners with 35 congregations from 14 denominations as well as private foundations, universities and schools, government agencies, community groups, and local businesses.

Interviews available upon request.