All photos by Steve Galli
The start of any festival weekend can be a little shaky. Rain instead of shine, staying on time—you never know how things will roll out until they just do. But when The Killers closed out a rainy Friday at Shaky Knees, playing the final verses of “When We Were Young” with the sound cut due to curfew, no one was fazed. Nothing could come between the band’s energy and the crowd’s; the beat went on. What’s more rock and roll than that?
On its 10th anniversary, Shaky Knees Music Festival returned to Atlanta May 5-7, 2023 to bring non stop rock and indie music back to Central Park. The sold-out weekend hosted by C3 Presents featured more than 60 artists across 4 stages, a new and improved entrance and Ponce De Leon Stage, and some of the best Southern eats around.
Greta Van Fleet on the Peachtree Stage
Josh Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet
The band walked out in outfits incredibly on brand, with vocalist Josh Kiszka in a white deep v-neck jumpsuit, and the band—guitarist Jake and bassist Sam Kiszka, and drummer Danny Wagner—in black and gold. There was no shortage of sequins and shimmer. The Michigan rockers delivered 10 songs, including the heavy “Caravel,” the romantic “Light My Love,” and a quick cover of Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right.”
Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs
On the Piedmont stage, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs played 12 of their most beloved songs, including “Y Control,” “Maps,” and “Heads Will Roll.” Lead singer Karen O—dressed in a black jumpsuit with a colorful, spiky design—dazzled the crowd with her equally punchy vocals and dancing, her red fringe gloves accentuating each move. Karen O, guitarist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase closed their set with “Date With Night,” a fitting soundtrack to Friday’s high energy.
Brian Molko of Placebo
Placebo took the Ponce De Leon Stage, mixing new and old into their set. The British rockers performed songs mostly off the 2022 album Never Let Me Go, but took a trip back to 1996 to play the ethereal “Bionic” off their self-titled debut. They ended their set with covers of “Shout” by Tears for Fears and Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.”
Peaches
Though the Criminal Records Stage was on the smaller side, it was met with big energy from Peaches. From her music and choreography to her outfit, Peaches was all about embracing sexuality and defying norms. The Canadian artist walked onstage in a large bouffant wig and an armor made of breasts. The Canadian artist performed 14 back-to-back bangers that had the crowd head over heels.
Digable Planets
Other Friday highlights included sets from Cypress Hill and Digable Planets at the Ponce De Leon Stage. Cypress Hill performed 1993’s Black Sunday in its entirety, while Digable Planets celebrated their 30th anniversary as a hip-hop group.
Charlotte Sands
Over at the Piedmont Stage, Run the Jewels member Killer Mike filled in for the last-minute cancellation of Manchester Orchestra, who had to drop due to illness. Charlotte Sands also performed earlier in the day, delivering pure pop punk goodness to the early birds.
Nick Furgiuele of Gringo Star
Another Friday standout was Gringo Star, who took the Criminal Records Stage in the early afternoon. Fellow Atlanta locals, the five-piece performed a feel-good, energized set that got the early crowd going. Fan favorites included “Back to the City” and “All Y’all.”
Muse
While Friday saw rain, Saturday saw fire. Muse transformed the Peachtree Stage into a futuristic universe of their very own, flanked by lots of pyro, a dark matter-inspired backdrop, and a supermassive robotic structure. The English rockers kicked off with high voltage cuts “Will of the People” and “Hysteria,” with Matt Bellamy occasionally strutting down the runway to greet fans. And the intensity only grew from there. “Madness,” “Uprising,” and “Starlight” also made the setlist, sending fans into an otherworldly bliss.
Jack Black of Tenacious D
Over at the Piedmont stage was a more bare-bones performance from Tenacious D. With Jack Black and Kyle Gass on acoustic guitars and a backing band, the famous LA duo turned in a 15-song set that received some of Saturday’s loudest singalongs and laughs. It wouldn’t be a performance from the two without some comedic moments, which included a pyro-inspired fashion snafu between Jack Black and a stage crew member, as well as the live debut of the “Spicy Meatball Song.”
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta shook the Peachtree Stage with their prog-rock tendencies. Opening with “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of),” lead vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala literally leapt into the first verse while swinging the mic stand. The band went on to play six songs, closing with the sheer intensity of “Cicatriz ESP.”
Nick Hexum of 311
Saturday’s feel-good vibes met a reggae-rock twist with 311’s set at the Piedmont Stage. Lead vocalist-guitarist Nick Hexum and vocalist S.A. Martinez took turns singing and hyping the crowd. As if hearing fan favorites like “All Mixed Up” and “Amber” wasn’t cool already, all band members broke into a drumline mid-set that featured a synchronized percussion interlude and drumstick-tossing tricks. Their famous cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong” and 1995 hit “Down” also made the setlist.
Suki Waterhouse
While Saturday saw a lot of high energy, Suki Waterhouse provided festival goers with a dreamy escape over at the Peachtree Stage. Dressed in a pearl-embellished top, green tweed shorts, and knee-high boots, Suki serenaded a swaying crowd with vocals rich like whisky. The English singer-songwriter and model performed songs mostly off her debut LP, I Can’t Let Go, as well as TikTok-viral hits like “To Love” and “Good Looking.”
Olivia Jean
Olivia Jean kicked the day off strong at the Peachtree Stage, performing mostly solo material. But “Wishing Well” by her band, The Black Belles, made an appearance on the setlist, as well as a Mohammed Rafi cover and an Enya cover. While her band gets famously dubbed as “garage goth,” Olivia Jean’s solo music leans into surf rock and rockabilly, tinged with gothic flavor. Dressed in a hot pink pinup-style dress, the goth rock icon turned in a 13-song performance.
The Gaslight Anthem
Saturday’s lineup featured probably the most diverse schedule in terms of genre. Other highlights of the day included the punk revival styles of The Gaslight Anthem, electric-cool vibes from Phantogram, and pure folk-punk bliss from The Front Bottoms.
The Lumineers
The final day of a festival often takes a relaxed route. While some of Sunday’s biggest names fall under the folk category, they showed that folk is a force in its own right.
As all six members of The Lumineers took the Peachtree Stage and broke into “BRIGHTSIDE,” their sound immediately encased the festival grounds. “Cleopatra” and “Ho Hey” followed, all wistful tunes that beautifully soundtracked the surrounding sunset. The Denver natives churned out 21 songs, including a quick cover of the Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” to lead into “Leader of the Landslide.” And while 311 covered The Cure’s “Lovesong,” The Lumineers also showed off their own version of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.”
The Flaming Lips
Famous for their fun and offbeat productions, The Flaming Lips did not skimp out on their festival set, going all out on the Piedmont Stage. Frontman Wayne Coyne showed up in his signature space bubble, as the band broke into playing 2002’s Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots in its entirety. Four large pink inflatable robots appeared onstage, as Wayne Coyne sang, “Those evil natured robots are programmed to destroy us,” off the title track. And in common Flaming Lips fashion, the Oklahoma band parted with a balloon message that read, “F*CK YEAH SHAKY KNEES.”
Hozier
At approximately 6:30 p.m., the average viewing experience at Peachtree turned into a spiritual awakening. Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, better known as Hozier, took the stage, his vocals resonant and rich on the openin song “Eat Your Young.” The Irish singer-songwriter was flanked by a full band, consisting of keys, violin, cello, bass, drums, and backing vocals. And in turn, every single one of the 13 songs played was an immersive experience. The packed crowd clearly shared similar sentiments—singing and swaying with devoted passion.
Father John Misty
Back at the Piedmont Stage, Father John Misty also brought out a full 9-person band, creating an incredibly mesmerizing sound. Though his latest album was 2022’s Chloë and the Next 20th Century, Father John Misty and crew ended up playing the most songs off 2015’s I Love You, Honeybear. 2016’s “Real Love Baby” made a spontaneous appearance as well, after not being part of the original setlist.
Ed Kowalczyk of Līve
Just a year away from Throwing Copper’s 30th anniversary, Līve devoted much of its set at Piedmont to the seminal album. The Pennsylvania rock band—consisting of Zak Loy, Chris Heerlein, Robin Diaz, Nick Jay, and founding member Ed Kowalczyk—opened with heavy hitters “Selling the Drama” and “All Over You,” and then pivoted to songs off 1997’s Secret Samadhi and 1999’s The Distance To Here. The afternoon slump was no problem for their 3:30 p.m. slot time, as the band incited some of the day’s most aggressive singalongs.
Melissa Brooks of The Aquadolls
Another Sunday set that defeated the afternoon slump was The Aquadolls at the Criminal Records Stage. The Orange Country trio turned in a high-energy performance of what they dub as “mermaid rock n roll.” Nearly 20 songs made the setlist, but the highlight was definitely the triple performance of 2013’s “I Like Fruit,” the first round being played in the style of “I Like Food” by The Descendents.
Click here for Day 1 gallery of images courtesy of Steve Galli
Click here for Day 2 gallery of images courtesy of Steve Galli
Click here for Day 3 gallery of images courtesy of Steve Galli
Next years dates : May 3-5, 2024
