Tag Archive for: shaky knees 2025

SHAKY KNEES 2025 DAY 3: WE’RE NIRVANA

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 9/22/25

Photo: Pooneh Ghana, Shaky Knees

Now that Shaky Knees day three has wrapped, it’s time to reminisce about our favorite moments from the final day of the festival. Our legs hurt, we’ve walked over 13,000 steps each day, and all of it was totally worth it. From seeing Weird Al for the first time to taking a trip down memory lane with Devo, we ended Shaky Knees 2025 on a high note.

I want to go straight for the jugular today and hit it off with my favorite performance of the day, Weird Al! I didn’t ever think I would be saying that but, he really is animated and puts on a great show. It has you rolling laughing! My friend even cried a little he was thought it was so funny. He started out with We’re Nirvana (Smells Like Teen Spirit) and dressed like Kurt Kobain in the original video, and we found out online that he used the same set, janitor, and extras. He then moved on to a Devo parody, literally wearing the same outfit that Devo, who played right before him wore!

After that, Weird Al did a compilation singing everything from Eat It (Beat It), Like a Surgeon (Like a Virgin), and so many more all rolled together. Moving on to White & Nerdy riding a segway on the stage to Amish Paradise (Gangstas Paradise). Finally, doing a whole ending about Star Wars, the Yoda song, and the oddest set of mixed together chanting I have ever heard. I can’t imagine getting everyone in sync acapella on this song!

Best of the rest, included getting to hear Devo sing Whip It live. We loved watching all of their really funny graphic like a donut and a french fry. Plus, they work their iconic red hats. They threw some out into the audience, but I was too far back. The Stereophonics did their main song, Dakota and it was fun to hear it live. We caught Vampire Weekend and my friend exclaimed, “They sound like the Jonas Brothers.” Do they? I’ve never heard the Jonas Brothers. As we walked out, a couple was getting married on stage of the Lucy Dacus show. I’ve never seen anything like that before, so we stopped and watched!

Oops, I did it again. Our ride was leaving before Blink 182, so we didn’t stay. How much did we miss?

With Shaky Knees in the rear view, my favorite performances in this order included Deftones at the top. Then Cage the Elephant came in second for me. Then, rounding out the top three is Cage the Elephant. What was yours?

SHAKY KNEES 2025 DAY 2: MESS AROUND

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 9/21/25

Photo: Roger Ho, Shaky Knees

With day 2 in the Shaky Knees book, yesterday was a whirl wind of bands and music. We call it the mess around, a nod to my favorite Cage the Elephant Song. We saw as many bands as we could from Radio City Alice to kick it off to Public Enemy to end the night. Here are some of our thoughts on them.

Starting with Radio Free Alice, they had a solid sound and vocals and were impressed with them for such young men. Next, we joined our friends to watch Johnny Marr. I should know who he is as he is the guitarist from the Smiths, but I had no idea until my writer and photographer friend, Reece told me, so I had to go. They didn’t disappoint playing greats like my favorite of theirs, How is Soon Now? and The Charming Man. Morrisey who?

We walked over to Highly Suspect but it was more a chat fest for our group. We agreed they were like a folky Cage the Elephant. Returning back to the Peachtree stage, we caught TV On the Radio. I have always wanted to see Wolf Like Me live since falling in love with the cover by Local H. They turned me on to the song.

Now on to Cage the Elephant, the best show of the day. I have so many stories about their music, like my niece, Katherine, was a huge fan in her teens and I took her to their concert as her birthday present and really enjoyed it. Shultz is so animated and seems to really enjoy his own music. When we covered Shaky back in 2016 at Centennial Park, the group was in the media room doing interviews, so we listened in and caught the show there and were impressed. This one was just as good, maybe better. We were on the hill, and the light show and pyrotechnics were fun, the energy high. They played all of their hits from my favorite Mess Around to Trouble, their first hit Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked, and ending with Cigarette Dreams.

We ended our night seeing a few songs from The Black Keys and heard the iconic Lonely Boy to open. But we really wanted to catch Public Enemy because we love old school rap. They are so engaging, really talk to the crowd, and want the crowd to be in it. They actually have new music that was good!! It was a nice reprieve from all the rock we’d heard all day and a great way to end the night.

I know, we didn’t stay for My Chemical Romance. I liked their first album but was disappointed in a concert I saw before the pandemic. To be honest, I was just so tired by then, I hit a wall.

Pro tip: bring a flashlight!

SHAKY KNEES 2025 DAY 1: MONKEYS GONE TO HEAVEN

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 9/20/25

Photo: Ismael Quintanilla III, Shaky Knees

John and I boarded Marta and took the train down to Piedmont Park for day one of Shaky Knees 2025. For us, today was about getting acquainted with the new venue, perusing all the fun activations, deciding on what merch to purchase, and of course catching all the great bands performing on my birthday! I thank them for making my birthday an epic one.

First, my favorite thing all day, was what I call “large Ozzy.” A larger-than-life Ozzy costume with a huge bat with whom I had some fun interactions. He was walking around near the media tent and food row and tried to “bite my head off.” It was hilarious. It is a great tribute to the late rocker. The coolest activation we found is the two-story Patron Tequila bar. It looks like a real bar and restaurant with lounge seating upstairs and DJ’s spinning every hour. They even have their own DJ line-up you can enjoy. I’m definitely going to spend some time there today upstairs during the day. We also ran into our friend, Steve Craig, DJ at 99x and had a great chat about Inhaler that they were going to interview that day. I didn’t know Elijah Hewson; the lead singer is Bono’s son. Yes, that Bono. I wish we had made it to their show now.

We made our way to the Piedmont stage to check out Idles first. I was really impressed with their sound; it really is a throwback to punk of old with a mix of grunge, rock elements, and a strong bold voice. I don’t know if this is what they were going for, but it was like Rage Against the Machine with a mix of Dead Kennedys, Henry Rollins, and then a grunge influence. I am not a huge Rage fan but love Dead Kennedys and grunge, so I enjoyed the performance. But what I really like is his voice. It is bold, deep, and commanding.

What who we really went to see were Pixies and Deftones. Starting with Pixies, I first discovered them in 1999 from the Fight Club soundtrack. Where is My Mind was an anthem to the times and still rings true today, so immediately I was hooked. This performance was just as good as all the ones I’ve seen before, with Doolittle and crew singing everything from poppy, surfer rock, Here Comes Your Man to grungy Gouge Away to one of my favorites, Monkeys Gone to Heaven. Fitting that the T-shirt they were selling for this tour is a monkey with a halo in clouds. I had to have it.

This leads me to the headliner of the night, Deftones. We literally just saw them about 4 months or so ago at State Farm Arena where they filled an entire arena with fans. They have seemed to have a resurgence in popularity lately and we are here for it! What strikes me every time with Deftones is their use of light and video in tandem with the Chino’s melonic voice. Their performance is always spot on and they know how to keep a crowd engaged sticking mostly with the hits. Deftones performed several of my favorites including Quiet and Drive (Far Away) to start then proceeding with My Own Summer that launched their career, Knife Party, then slowing it down a little with Diamond Eyes and Digital Bath. The hits kept coming with some of their new album, that is absolutely amazing, but nothing is better live than Change (In the House of Flies). The sun rising behind Chino is just chilling and beautiful. Deftones stock has risen! Now, how do I get them to play my favorite of their songs, Passenger from White Pony.

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, BLINK-182, DEFTONES TO HEADLINE SHAKY KNEES 2025

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 4/15/25

LINEUP INCLUDES VAMPIRE WEEKEND, LENNY KRAVITZ,
CAGE THE ELEPHANT, ALABAMA SHAKES, THE BLACK KEYS,
SUBLIME, “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC, THE MARIAS, PUBLIC ENEMY,
LUCY DACUS, DEVO AND MANY MORE

SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2025

PIEDMONT PARK

ATLANTA, GA

PRESALE BEGINS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27 AT 10AM ET

 My Chemical Romance, Blink-182 and Deftones will headline the 12th edition of Shaky Knees Music Festival, taking place September 19-21 at its new home in downtown Atlanta’s crown jewel, Piedmont Park. The massive lineup includes Vampire Weekend, Lenny Kravitz, returning for his first performance in Atlanta in nearly seven years, Cage The Elephant, Alabama Shakes, The Black Keys, Sublime, “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Marias, Public Enemy, Lucy Dacus, Devo, Pixies, The Backseat Lovers, TV On The Radio, The All-American Rejects, Idles and many more for over 50 performances across four stages. Fans can sign up now at ShakyKneesFestival.com to receive an SMS access code for the presale on Thursday, February 27 at 10am ET with access to the lowest-priced tickets. 1-Day and 3-Day GA, GA+, VIP, and Platinum Tickets will be available.

VIP Tickets include access to prime viewing areas at Peachtree, Piedmont and Ponce de Leon Stages, unlimited access to the VIP Lounge between Peachtree and Piedmont Stages with shade, relaxed seating, air-conditioned restrooms, private bar with drinks for purchase or complimentary beer and water, dedicated food vendors, lockers and mobile charging units available for rent, dedicated hospitality staff and more. Platinum Tickets provide all VIP amenities, plus exclusive on-stage viewing opportunities at Peachtree Stage, front-of-stage viewing areas at Peachtree, Piedmont and Ponce de Leon Stages, unlimited entry into the air-conditioned Platinum Lounge inside the Park Tavern restaurant with relaxed seating and TVs with live sports, complimentary full-service bar, coffee service and fest-curated lunch, dinner and snacks, daily acoustic performance by a Shaky Knees artist inside the Platinum Lounge, dedicated entry lane and concierge staff, and more. The Ultimate Ticket Package is an exclusive experience that will bring fans into the inner workings of the festival from a unique vantage point, including on-stage viewing and access to viewing at front-of-house sound board at Peachtree and Piedmont Stages, golf cart transportation, entry into the Artist Village with complimentary beverages, plus one ticket per person to an Official Shaky Knees Late-Night Show of your choice. For the full list of amenities and all ticket types, visit ShakyKneesFestival.com/Tickets. Layaway plans are available starting at $25 down for a limited time.

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