From balancing books to late-night melodic music, The Little Ditties run around Lakewood High School by day and are headlined at Mahall’s by night. Any day of the week, like clockwork, Lakewood’s bustling concert venue, Mahall’s, puts on a sparkling show that takes the crowd by storm; on March 6th, Lakewood’s band, The Little Ditties, did exactly that.

If you don’t know of the Lakewood High School legend and incredibly talented band The Little Ditties, can you even call yourself a Lakewood High School student? It is composed of members Lana Collins on the bass, Owen Ritchie on the drums, Anna Maurer on the guitar, and vocalist Elizabeth Schuldt.

The band bloomed two years ago with just a single Snapchat post; Collins reached out and was looking to start a band; thankfully, bandmates Shudlt, Ritchie, and Maurer had the same idea.

“We met two years ago now,” Collins said. “Elizabeth saw it and told me to hit up Anna because she was looking to start a band.”

From then on, Lakewood history was made; Lakewood High School’s “The Lakewood Project,” an orchestral rock and roll band, is where all the members originally met.

This concert was extraordinary; the Little Ditties brought up some of The Lakewood Project’s star members on stage, including cellists, violinists, and viola players.

“I thought this one was cool, I think this was one of my favorites so far because of the music they played,” Lila Maurer said.

Lila Maurer, the younger sister of Anna Maurer, has had the pleasure of witnessing the Little Ditties grow together as a band and even got to perform in one of their concerts.

“They used to practice in my basement, so I have been listening to them since sixth grade,” Lila Maurer stated. “I played viola in one of their concerts.”

The band recently hit their second anniversary of practicing as a group.

“We’ve been practicing for two years, but we started playing shows in June of 2023,” Collins stated.

But like every band, they have a favorite place to perform.

“Probably Mahall’s, we play here all the time,” Collins said. “We like the Grog Shop though too.”

“Ohio City Burrito was a great venue,” Maurer added.

Mahall’s is always an iconic spot for any up-and-coming or more prominent performers to spend a night where the audience is always down to dance and sing.

So many different things can inspire an artist to write and create music, and so many different genres have sparked through the years due to artists taking initiative and wanting to create something new.

The Little Ditties have a sound that many other bands could not replicate. But what genre are they?

“Every time someone asks us this question, we list off every genre,” Collins said. “And we go folk, indie, country, rap, hip hop, rock and roll, but mostly indie rock.”

They have a wide range of genres in their discography and embark on many different sounds and vibes. Every band needs to be adjustable and willing to experiment with their sounds.

“We’re playing a cover tonight called Deeper by Jigsaw Youth. We also have a lot of original songs; I like our newest song, I think it’s super fun,” Collins said. “We also have a song called Moving On that I have a good time playing and we have a song that’s inspired by Rage Against the Machine.”

Even though they are high school students in a band, the question of whether they will continue practicing together and performing is a big question that many bands have to answer. Luckily, they are optimistic about attempting to continue performing together.

“We haven’t really talked yet, but we’ll try to play as many shows as we can over the summer, but we’re all probably going very far and different places,” Schuldt said.

“We’ve talked about it at times,” Maurer said. “And we might be able to do a winter break next year.”

But whatever they choose to do after graduation, this will not be the last of this iconic indie rock band. Experimenting with genres is definitely in the minds of The Little Ditties.

“My sisters are in the band and I just really like seeing my sister playing music, and all of her friends playing music, and them enjoying it,“ Lila Maurer said. “I’ve gone to quite a few of her concerts.”

This show wasn’t the first and definitely will not be the last performance from The Little Ditties, as they plan to perform more together as a band soon. Their next show is Saturday, March 15th, at The Brothers Lounge in Cleveland.