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Festival headliners make good conversation, over beers, wines or even a work break. Who is touring or expected to tour? Who hasn’t been to Shaky already? Who hasn’t been to Atlanta for a long time? As Atlanta’s premier festival, Shaky Knees also reflects on the city. Festivals are everywhere. How does Atlanta’s stack up? Does the festival’s Indie / Alt-rock northern star exclude acts that should be here? Are there enough worthy acts to fill the bill? For that matter, how does a festival manage to curate a line-up given the significant advance planning, band management or promoter input, and the obstacles of efficient touring for the bands? Don’t know, but they do it, and then the line-up is released. Then it’s time for round two.
Should I go to all three days? Is a particular day obviously stronger than the others? Who are all these other bands, and do they affect my plans? Or, more metaphysically, is there such a thing as objective reality when every listener is evaluates the line-up subjectively? You make your choices, and then you hope Round 3 doesn’t mess with your plans, that being the slotting of artists on two stages for each time slot. But that chore will wait until the end of April.
There’s a lot here to like. Is it the best ever? There’s that subjectivity thing. Not going there. But, each night’s headliner serves up a variety of styles: folkish pop, power pop, and a Gen-X/Millennial’s classic rock.
Noah Kahan is finding himself headlining a number of festivals after only three recent albums, and it’s a head-scratcher for many who have never heard of him. That said, he’s enjoying a meteoric rise having already transitioned from indie pop to a more folkish sound, so maybe Atlanta is catching lightning in a bottle. He fills a Lumineers-type slot for more acoustic-driven singer/songwriter, generally “feel good” pop.
Weezer headlines Saturday and should be familiar to all. Drawing on their strengths from 19 albums released over the last 30 years, their bright, beat-driven power pop should be a fun, agreeable way to close out day two. Sometimes bands that have been around a while live off the past. Notably, they have released six well-received albums in just the last two years which is certain to influence the set. There’s nothing wrong to listening to a greatest hits CD live, but it’s usually better when the artist has good stuff to mix in. .
Foo Fighters probably catches the attention for most as principal Dave Grohl has become a cultural icon based on his high-quality alt-rock/post-grunge music, a winning personality and smart insertions into other areas. The dude is an interesting, thoughtful guy. Despite head-lining in 2021 and appearing on Sunday when many are worn out and facing a work week, expect an over-sized crowd and arrive early for this one.
Great variety and a winning line-up for certain, festivals shouldn’t be judged on their headliners. And figuring out the supporting cast has been the strength of the Shaky Knees.
FRIDAY
Arcade Fire arguably should be the headliner here, given their richer history of songs and ample critical and fan acclaim earned over the last 20+ years. The Canadian Indie band is certain to provide an energetic set including a truck load of various instruments, but some familiarity with their songs, especially lyrically, helps as their subject matter varies widely. The Grammy’s don’t mean much, but their five studio albums have each been nominees for the best alternative category.
Young the Giant, by comparison, features more accessible Indie rock and Sameer Gadhia has a stunning and effortless vocal delivery. The entire band is known for their charisma when playing live. New York’s Interpol returns for the first time since 2015 with their rocking post-punk hits. They’ve also leaned to New Wave a bit, but the important thing is that they rock!
As always, the undercard is where things get interesting. The Revivalists have been touring hard for years, earning their audience and gradually playing larger venues. The eight piece New Orleans band, their name chosen to revive New Orleans after the Katrina flooding, plays grooving, danceable rock with great vocals. Tennessee’s Yves Tumor offers something different than however one might interpret Indie rock. They’re always grooving, at times completely accessible and at others far more experimental. This should be one of the most interesting artists for the day.
Metric offers very danceable New Wave and brings a reputation as an energetic live act. Tennessee’s All Them Witches returns to SK, a must-see rock band that may one day work their way to a nighttime stage, which is better suited to their darker psychedelic/blues rock explorations.
What’s going on with Australia’s psychedelic scene? Australia’s neo-psych Pond should be of interest to fans of Tame Impala, as they’re the touring band for Kevin Parker. Visa issues halted their appearance at last year’s festival which was a great disappointment. Given the placement in the announcement, it will be interesting, and perhaps unfortunate, if they square off in the same time slot as another Aussie psych band, the hard-touring Psychedelic Porn Crumpets.
Short notes:
Switchfoot is a Christian oriented rock band with mainstream success.
Del Water Gap offers dreamy folk pop.
Ax and the Hatchetmen play bright and jangly rock.
Odie Leigh stands alone as the indie acoustic folk act for the day.
Kid Kapichi brings UK “beat punk” which should be fun.
Pigs Pigs (repeat 5 more times) is a British stoner rock band. A much harder edged early Pink Floyd?
Linka Moja is an Alt singer/songwriter with some stylistic pep.
Nashville’s Winona Fighter brings the punk rock. Earplugs. Don’t forget the earplugs.
Mali Velasquez is an emerging Nashville singer/songwriter.
SATURDAY
Queens of the Stone Age continue touring on the strength of their latest recording, In Times New Roman, guaranteed to be an excellent set of hard rock based on their recent show at Fox Theatre. The Offspring brings their high-energy and humorous Californian punk pop which should prime the QotSA crowd.
Norwegian pop artist Marie Ulven performs as Girl in Red, having built a giant audience with her home recordings and finding international success. Dreamy romantic Indie pop?
Sweden’s Miike Snow is back as a touring unit after taking some years off, though leader Andrew Wyatt has continued to release music under his own name. Expect glossy electronic pop. Sunny Day Real Estate comes with a lot of Seattle cred for performing a great live emo punk/rocking set.
Here’s a bit of variety. LA’s cleverly named Chicano Batman serves up something different for Shaky Knees, namely “psych-soul.” Gotta try that out, right? Closer to home, Atlanta’s emerging Microwave features rocking guitar with a touch of nihilistic themes. If “western space grunge,” sounds appealing, or even interesting (and it should), try Dexter & the Moonrocks. And Lido Pimienta is a Canadian/Columbian singer who brings an interesting dual dimension with Latina and African influenced pop music.
Shaky Knees has included a math-rock band in recent years, and though not overtly so, Pool Kids is an emo rock band with math rock tendencies. Blondshell‘s Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum formerly played pop as BAUM and is now touring her critically acclaimed debut self-titled album. Australia’s Grace Cummings offers another appealing female lead with a powerful, deep voice and stylistic range.
Short takes:
Royal Blood is a hard rocking duo ala White Stripes or Black Keys.
London’s Palace plays light alt-rock with atmospheric guitars.
Holly Humberstone is a London singer-songwriter, favoring synth-pop with introspective tendencies.
Quarters of Change is a NY alt-rock newcomer with a knack for catchy tunes.
Dead Poet Society – LA angst? Well, it rocks!
Friday Pilots Club might be described as a big-beat-to-get-you-moving rock band.
Bad Nerves is a rising Essex band with frenetic rocking pop songs.
Tigercub – Essex hard rock trio, bit of QofSA, Muse?
Been Stellar – New York Indie, post-punk rock with hints of shoe-gaze.
The Inspector Cluzo duo return to Shaky Knees with eclectic rocking fun.
SUNDAY
Billy Idol? The guy had big hits and a trademark sneer that secures his place in punk pop history, but this seems a random throwback for a guy who has done pretty much anything to score a buck for decades. Still, it’s Billy Idol.
Portugal, the Man fits perfectly with the Shaky vibe, a band that has evolved over the last 16 years. Neo-psychedelic, hip-hop, electronics, indie-rock… wherever the muse leads with what a song needs.
Men I Trust is a Montreal band featuring slow, delicate and dreamy music. Hopefully they’ll play at one of SK’s smaller stages for something closer to intimacy. Dinosaur Jr. is pretty much a legend, their guitar heavy approach injecting energy into Indie rock. If you haven’t seen these well-traveled, max-volume rockers, do it now and bring your earplugs.
Sunday has a cluster of artists who have recorded together, Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby and Matt and Kim. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone sits in with the others, schedule permitting. Waxahatchee/Katie Crutchfield returns to SK, a singer/songwriter with confessional lyrics set largely to her acoustic guitar. Morby has a broader sound and subject matter, and he prodigiously releases an album about every year. Matt & Kim is a Brooklyn duo that began playing “dance punk” and has morphed into hip-hop and pop songs.
The Struts return to SK, one of the acts that deserves a large stage because they’re built for it, vocalist Luke Spiller particularly energetic at getting a crowd involved. Big-beat rock songs don’t hurt.
A special callout is warranted for Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, a Grammy award winning blues artist. The next-gen blues guitarist can pound out a blues rocker as easily as can pull out an acoustic blues original close to its purist form.
Nova Twins are an English art rock duo covering a wide variety of styles (Punk, rap, heavy rock) featuring an inventive bassist and the requisite aggression to make a great live act.
Fazerdaze – New Zealand’s Amelia Murray is a self-made story, recording an album in her bedroom which won an online and then widespread following. Back after a lengthy break coming to terms with instant success, the singer/songwriter has recently released an EP and singles that reflect a more diverse Indie-pop sound.
Short takes:
Loveless is a two year old LA based alt-rock/alt-pop duo.
Royel Otis – Aussie duo brings a positive vibe with guitar-driven indie-pop
Arcy Drive – NY indie rock foursome that should bring some energy to a festival stage.
Benches – SoCal indie rock band that is becoming more polished in their songwriting, which can be a good or a bad thing.
Eric Slick is a talented multi-instrumentalist bringing well-crafted indie light rock. He may be best of the early cards and a reason to arrive early, even if you’re tired from the first two days.
Certainly So – This four piece band plays a general middle-of-the-road, radio-friendly sound, but helpfully, they’re never formulaic.
Lamont Landers – Remember the scene when the (black) crowd at the Apollo reacts to (white) Buddy Holly? Here we have a white guy from North Alabama who sounds like neither. And he’s played at the Apollo. Soul to start your Sunday.