Concertgoers still trailed into Paloma Park as five University of Georgia students walked onstage. But the crowd erupted into rowdy applause when an electric guitarist ripped the first notes of “Layla” by Derek and The Dominos.
Sweet Tea Pedigree’s pop-up show on March 27 launched Jam in the Streets, a music festival fundraising for melanoma research.
Why It’s Newsworthy: Sweet Tea Pedigree played the first set of Jam in the Streets 2026, which drew over 30,000 attendees this year. The band also released its first single in February, mere months after forming.
The band, less than a year old, opened for Penelope Road after competing in February for a spot in the music festival’s lineup and placing second. Sweet Tea Pedigree, made up of lead singer Amelia Duffner, guitarist and singer Wyatt Baugh, drummer Noah Simpson and bassist Grayson Pope, also released their first single, “Wayback,” in February.
Ryan Boswell, co-head of sales and fundraising for Jam for Cam, the nonprofit behind the festival, lauded the band’s skill and stage presence.
“They have great chemistry together, and she, like, runs the stage and performs it so well, has a great ambience,” Boswell said. “And their guitarist and their drummer and all of them are just such talented performers that we really felt it would be a disservice to not include them in some way to the festival.”
Performing in the second annual Jam in the Streets was a full-circle moment for Duffner. She attended the festival last year right after releasing her first single.
“I was dreaming of it when I was standing there, but I never could have imagined that I could actually be a part of something like that,” Duffner said.
The band began with modest ambitions, but Athens’ vibrant music scene is nothing if not a fast-track for talent. They soon found themselves playing several shows a week and having to turn down offers.
We were just searching for dad lore, but now we have the Georgia Theatre lined up. We’re in over our heads,” Baugh joked.
Sweet Tea Pedigree opened for Barnhouse March 31 at the Georgia Theatre with local band Workin’ Past Midnight. They were joined by Ben Jones, a temporary addition who played keyboard and trumpet for both the Georgia Theatre and Paloma Park shows.
Sweet Tea Pedigree’s rapid success demands a precarious balance of full-time academic and musical responsibilities. In the beginning, rehearsals often stretched late into the night. But long hours of songwriting and studio work are worth it, Duffner said, even though it’s a challenge.
“We’re moving into a time where our originals are more important to us than covers,” Duffner said.
“Wayback” is, in a sense, the first fruit of the band’s transition into self-discovery.
The single tackles heartbreak with a grungy, hard rock sound reminiscent of Paramore. The song opens with grainy electric guitar and punchy drums. Duffner belts the refrain, “Come home,” with raw emotion. The band has amassed over 400 monthly listeners on Spotify since the release of “Wayback.”
The song came naturally, despite its style deviating from the soulful funk the band often gravitates towards.
We literally wrote the whole song in an hour, and it was like — we all loved it,” Simpson said. “And then we just never changed anything about it.”
Each bandmate has distinct music tastes. Baugh is partial to bluegrass while Simpson enjoys alternative hip-hop like that of rapper Tyler, The Creator, Simpson said. It isn’t bad, Simpson said, but just means their collective sound needs some refining.
The band embraces “Wayback” in all its punk glory but doubts its next release will be another rock anthem.
Previous experience leading worship together at Wesley Foundation, an on-campus Christian ministry, meant everyone “knew what each other’s strengths were,” Pope said. That groundwork, combined with a little spontaneity, was all the band needed to take off.
But beneath the chemistry and the flashy name, a shared love for good music remains integral to the band’s purpose.
“We were all, like, just down to do it, and I really respected that, and that made me want to commit to it more because I saw how on fire they were for it, and, like, their passion was the same as mine,” Duffner said. “And I feel like that’s hard to find with music. Some people — it doesn’t consume them like it does for all of us.”
Mary Weeks is a freshman majoring in journalism at the University of Georgia.
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