Shaky Knees 2026 Saturday started with a cool, morning freshness. By the time the first band took the stage, the heat was on reaching a high of 93oF and content to stay that way for far too long. Forecasts predicted rain for the late afternoon, but that didn’t come… until it suddenly did. But, at least it was a full day at the festival!
More bands! More drinks! More music! More people watching! More fun!
Again, pictures! With some words. Enjoy.
First up was Sophie’s Body, my favorite band among those that I hadn’t been familiar with prior to the fest. Sometimes you have to lean into a genre name. In this case, bubble grunge rock, as self-described by the band. It’s an overlap of a lot of familiar genres that the bibliostereophiles are welcome to define, but it comes from a classically trained violinist/vocalist, a jazz band kid and two grunge musicians.
Sometimes a false start can be an undoing. In this case, the lead mic didn’t work but that didn’t stop leader Sophie McMinn from taking it stride and making it a playful moment with the crowd. Later, she’d ask, “Hey, Atlanta! What time is it?” Gets you thinking that maybe stage clock isn’t working. “I don’t know because my watch says it’s party time!” She then launched into the band’s new single, “Long Time Loaner,” and exhorted the crowd to form a “soft” mosh pit and later to bang their heads to the music.
Aside from a confident stage presence, the band delivered a great set of songs that started the day rocking. The band will be releasing their debut album Zero on Oct. 30th.
Athens’ Hotel Fiction finally got the stage they wanted, an appearance at Shaky Knees, and they certainly delivered on the opportunity. Jade Ireland and Jessica Thompson met while attending UGA and ultimately expanded into a five piece band. They’ve built a great reputation with a genre-fluid charm that includes dreamy keys, shimmering guitars and catchy indie-pop sensibilities.
There is a very warm, intimate presence with this the band that invites the audience in, as well as a connection from the joy they demonstrate performing. The band has a great catalog of songs, but two years after the critically acclaimed Staring at the Sun, they’ve just released a new single, “Cold Cold Heart,” which didn’t take any time to get people moving. The band’s songs vary quite a lot, making it difficult to pin a song as theirs without hearing the vocals, and the new song leans into a different production direction with a richer rhythmic depth. More surprises to come, I’m sure. More good news is that the band plans on releasing an album next year, likely not titled “You Can Probably Guess,” which is what Jade offered when asked. (!)
Great set, featuring a standout, “Allure,” Jess on lead vocals for “Ready Set Go,” “Athens” – unsurprisingly a fan favorite locally, and “Why Do Good Things Have to End?”
A negative? The band is too close by to play as rarely as they do in the Atlanta area. On the other hand, I could do more, like listening to their full set rather than headed to the next stage to be in time for the media window for photographs of a band that I wouldn’t enjoy nearly as much.
Fat Evil Chicken delivered a set with jangly guitars and low-key vocals for an indie/folk rot set, even tossing in a bit of harmonica. The fans up front were into the music, but the larger segment were those filling up every bit of shade by the trees a good distance away. It didn’t seem to bother the band, or, at least, guitarist Truman Sinclair, who visibly was the only member of the band having a great time on-stage. The band seemed to dial in more as the set continued.
Australia’s Rum jungle is a four piece indie-rock band offering a blend of indie-pop, surf-rock and reggae-fusion funk. More importantly, they’re a fun live act with lots of rocking electric guitar. They included a new instrumental song, which was slower and darkly toned surf rock. They also included “Quiet When You’re Listening” from their recent release, Marginalia.
A funny moment for those that caught it was when singer Fran Doran remarked on the heat as “a normal day in Australia.” Wrong. It’s winter there. Enjoy your taste of home!
Sir Chloe is a NYC based indie-rock project let by Dana Foote. Their live sound delivers a sharper, scuzzier, and more visceral punch than their recorded tracks suggest. Foote commands the stage with a fairly deadpan expression, her voice shifting from low and smoky whisper to full-throated delivery.
Greepers, by which dedicated Geordie Greep fans are known, arrived early. Geordie gained a huge following as the leader of now-defunct Black Midi and is pursuing his career as a solo artist. There was no reason to doubt his appeal after this performance. The set opened with a racecar engine firing. He kept his back to the audience through the first song and didn’t touch the mic until 15 minutes into the set. The band had a lot to say, with lots of arpeggios and dueling guitars. The mathematical aspect seemed similar to a more modern version of King Crimson, but jazz-adjacent as well. A great set, and hopefully Greepers will be able to catch him locally soon for an extended set. There’s just so much more to the possibilities here.
Minus the Bear opened with “The Game Needed Me” and a tight performance including fan favorite “Pachuca Sunrise” from 2005’s Menos el Oso. To that point, lead singer Jake Snider mentioned that this was their final performance from a lengthy tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of that album, but “tight” playing also means there was no sense of exhaustion or going through the motions. This was a very satisfying set.
“PP Heads,” fans of Peach Pit, were abundantly in attendance for this set. After delivering a reported high-energy late-night set at Terminal West the night before. The band began with a killer combo of the sweeping, low build of “Private Presley” followed by “Black Licorice.” That the band performed their biggest hit, “Alrighty Aphrodite,” with two songs remaining, and lifted the crowd afterwards, was a testament how good they are. Clam Chowder, anyone?
Taking back Sunday revealed a band operating at a crossroads of heavy nostalgia and high-octane charm, before suddenly meeting the elements. The band was killing it, not to mention styling, in their suits. “Circle of Life.” “What’s It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?”. “Liar (It Takes One to Know One).”
Wait, when did that dark cloud reach over the front edge of the stage? Where did that sudden cool breeze blow from?
“Set Phasers to Stun.” Yeah. Lightning cracked @ 7:04 PM. We were warned, though. The backscreen read “Weather in the Area” prior to the band started. “Move away from the stage” was soon followed by a full evacuation of the park. The stages… understood. But it’s not any less likely someone would be struck in the adjacent areas to the park than within the park. Liability. Insurance. Got it. The band was on fire. Then everyone got wet minutes later.
No Pavement and Steve Malkmus. No Pierce the Veil. No The Prodigy.
For those who remained in the vicinity – in the garages or under porches of nearby houses, under houses, in portable toilets even… – the return call finally came for an abbreviated set by Twenty-One Pilots. I wasn’t within range of the notice given, but plenty were, including about half of the photographers who had a keener sense of the possibilities than I did. smh.
