Shaky Knees, Atlanta’s premiere music festival, returns to the city this September 18-20. Dubbed “a rock lover’s dream”, the lineup always consists of a blend of indie, alternative, and punk rock with some pop-leaning acts as well as harder inclusions. In recent years, the festival has hosted some big names including Foo Fighters, Weezer, Deftones, and Muse. This year, they seem to be going a slightly more modern route with their bookings but certainly not forgetting the importance of its well-roundedness.
The festival has changed venues many times over the years, from being held at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park then to Central Park. This will be the second year it is held at Piedmont Park, after taking over Music Midtown’s time slot there due to the pop festival’s indefinite hiatus. If this tells us anything, it’s that Atlanta, and the south as a whole, continues to be eager for a big rock festival like this to come around each and every year.
Shaky Knees has a knack for showcasing artists in the spotlight at seemingly the perfect time. The Strokes will be headlining the festival Friday, with Reality Awaits, their first new album since 2020’s The New Abnormal, being slated for release in June. Twenty One Pilots headline Saturday and will bring in a sea of dedicated fans to continue the momentum of a huge 2025 for them. Last, but certainly not least, is Sunday’s headliner Gorillaz, who released their new record, The Mountain, back in February and will be playing the festival for the very first time this September.
There are a great number of acts playing the fest who’ve been making huge waves in the young alternative scene. Geese have had an exponentially huge past year, more than selling out a world tour, and they’re now going in for a second leg this fall. Shaky is lucky enough to be a stop on it, and will assuredly bring one of the biggest non-headliner crowds of the weekend. Other sets you’ll find all the cool kids at include Turnstile for punk, Fontaines D.C. for Irish post-punk, Blood Orange for alt-pop/R&B, Geordie Greep for experimental prog-rock, Fcukers for style-bending dance pop, and Cardinals for Irish indie-rock.
All that being said, Shaky is no stranger to catering to crowds looking for more classic, iconic acts. Danny Elfman’s set is definitely one to watch, as he has a back catalogue of film scores, classic rock, and 80s hits to work with. British EDM group The Prodigy and Cali indie-rockers Pavement were prominent in the 90s and are bringing back all that charm this year at Shaky. Some other acts that are sure to excite include Pierce The Veil, Jimmy Eat World, LCD Soundsystem, and Wu-Tang Clan.
This year’s lineup also consists of a good amount of nepo babies. Julian Casablancas, frontman of The Strokes, is inarguably the most well-known one, and many are no doubt excited to see him in the flesh. Dave Grohl’s daughter Violet Grohl released a stellar debut record on May 29 and will be performing the festival on Sunday. Gene Gallagher, Liam Gallagher of Oasis’ son, will be performing with his grunge-leaning band Villanelle, and Victoria and David Beckham’s son Cruz Beckham will be bringing his indie pop-rock dealings to Shaky on Saturday. These are surely some sets to be at, as they are assuredly passionate about music and have been releasing tracks to be listening to.
Every year and with every festival, there are those that do not see the hype in the lineup and wish there were more acts for them to personally be excited about, but this year, Shaky Knees truly outdid themselves in catering to a wide variety of rock lovers, truly making it a dream. Look out for more coverage from us on Shaky Knees this September, it’s gonna be a killer one!