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Noah Kahan took the Peachtree stage to headline the first night of Shaky Knees’ 11th edition. While an unfamiliar name to some, tens of thousands singing along can’t be wrong, and launching into “Dial Drunk” seemed an apropos song for music fans of any (adult) generation. The Peachtree field was close to capacity, and Noah frequently paused to absorb the massive audience. Songs such as “All My Love”, “Northern Attitude” and the closer “Stick Season” off of his Sticks album got the most interaction. At one point he proclaimed that if you don’t know the lyrics to his song you can “go run in traffic,” along with others about trying to get audiences depressed and similar. Though very pop-ish in sound, the music belies the oft-troubled lyrics.
Arcade Fire opened with “Rebellion (Lies)” to start off with a big beat as the crowd trickled in to pack the Piedmont Stage. The band then played “Ready to Start” and “The Suburbs” before moving to more synth-driven new material with “Age of Anxiety II”. After creating a more danceable atmosphere, the band naturally played “Reflektor” with its Caribbean rhythms to keep the audience moving. The band ended on with optimistic “Everything Now” and “Wake Up” for the longtime fans.
Energy… performance… crowd reaction… future Shaky headliner? The entire band’s performance, not just singer Win Butler, made a statement that they belong on the featured stage.
The iconic post-punk band returned to Shaky Knees for their third appearance going back to 2015. The band played as serious and straightforward as they looked, working through essentially a “best of” their twenty years career ranging from their debut to their last release, The Other Side of Make-Believe. “Slow Hands” and “Obstacle 1” were standouts.
Switchfoot played the Criminal Records stage competing against Interpol. They opened with their 2005 hit “Stars” to get the crowd going. Shortly after, they played a surprising cover choice with “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys to win over the crowd that hadn’t fallen for the nostalgia. The band interspersed different styles of music including funk on “Bull in a China Shop” to go with their brand of alternative rock. “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move” were played in the middle of the set to keep the crowd optimally engaged, along with several calls for crowd interaction by singing and clapping. Lead singer Jon Foreman’s love of playing music radiated from the stage with a big smile from the beginning of the set to the end, with the crowd joining in. Many felt that this was one of the best shows not just of the day, but of the festival.
Young the Giant is no stranger to the festival scene, having built an audience through energetic performances and radio-friendly hits. Sameer Gadhia remains an engaging performer, whether wresting emotion in his delivery or driving their anthemic choruses. No surprises here, as they covered most fan favorites as well as four songs off their 2022 release, American Bollywood. “Cough Syrup” and “My Body” stood out for sing-alongs, but whether familiar or not, you can’t wrong with Young the Giant.
The Revivalists brought their brand of groovy folk rock to the Peachtree Stage. Steel guitar and saxophone solos created a dynamic sonic atmosphere to keep things fresh for the listeners. “Wish I Knew You” came on during the middle of their set and got the crowd singing along. The band made the song more groovy than the recording by playing the dub keyboard groove early and keeping it going. The band also emphasized audience interaction by encouraging singing along and clapping. But really, the show is David Shaw, a front man who is as engaging as they come, constantly traveling from stage left to stage right, and even jumping into the pit.
The Canadian alt-rock band Metric opened with their most well-known song, “Black Sheep” to immediately get the crowd moving to a big beat. Metric got fists pumping with “Help I’m Alive” to imitate the hammer in the lyrics. Metric utilized synths on newer songs like “Doomscroller” helpfully to create a more rave-like atmosphere and mix it up from their rock style throughout the set. The band shown brightly in their performance, as did singer Emily Haines in reflective red suit in the late afternoon sun. Fans expecting “Eclipse (All Yours)” from the Twilight soundtrack were likely disappointed.
Nick Allbrook. He’s everywhere. And those joining at the Ponce de Leon got just the action you want in a mid-schedule performance. Highlights included their opener, the catchy “(I’m) Stung)” and fuzz-guitar “Neon River,” both from their upcoming album Stung! Again, just the type of electric performance that spices up a festival! The prior was written while mowing someone’s lawn, after flying high in a relationship and getting dropped.
After experiencing some technical issues with on-stage monitors, Wine Lips kicked off their performance of high tempo punk songs. The crowd immediately broke into a pit with beer cans emptying in all directions. Local microcelebrity @robotfrom19.84 made an appearance with his signature pink cowboy hat, which is always a sign of a fun pit and a guarantee for crowd-surfing.
Athens, GA based Maserati was a late-comer for a scratch (Pigs x 7) in the initial line-up. They’re not filler material, though. Maserati got the early crowd moving with hypnotic grooves on songs like “Inventions” and “Pyramid of the Sun”.
An instrumental post-rock band, they joked that they have been trying to rip off “Eye of the Tiger” for their entire career. Every song has a great groove whether rocking, spacey or danceable, and that classic song still seems to inspire great things.
Admitting that this was their first festival appearance, Ray Bull shook off the nervousness after a few songs… or maybe it was just an early crowd started responding more. The indie pop duo from Brooklyn is building an audience the old-fashioned way after social media gave them a head start. Guitar and percussion drive much of their sound, but it will be interesting to see what sax, keys and other instruments bring to their sound over time.
Every festival needs a fist-pumping, in-your-face performance. Actually each day of the fest does. On this day, it was Nashville’s Winona Fighter. Coco refuses to let the audience stand idly by, thrashing every which way, and, when necessary, using a megaphone.
Linka Moja opened the festival, a relative newcomer but not showing it. She impressed Eddie Vedder enough to play at a festival, which resulted in a live album then her studio debut in 2023, Serial Mongamist.
