BY MELISSA RUGGIERI/AJC Music Scene
The Shaky Knees Music Festival launched five years ago with the intent of maintaining an indie rock thrust.
As the event morphed and expanded — what began in the muddy backyard of the original Masquerade now returns to Centennial Olympic Park this weekend for the second consecutive year — the music edged a few inches closer to the mainstream.
But this year, Shaky Knees is firmly rooted in indie world, with headliners including LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix, The xx, Cage the Elephant and Ryan Adams.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
“What I think is most unique about Shaky Knees is that you can discover bands that are good, and they’re there for a reason,” said Tim Sweetwood, the promoter and creator of the event, which he named after a lyric from a song by his favorite band, My Morning Jacket. “(Artists like) Ron Gallo, Frank Carter (& The Rattlesnakes) — people might not know their names, but they’re not like some (junk) bands. Those are the bands, more than the bigger bands, that I take the time to listen to. My job is to put something in front of someone’s face, make it affordable and make them have a good time.”
To that end, after an experiment last year with five stages that required a trek over Marietta Street across a makeshift bridge, Sweetwood reduced the number of stages this time to three, all situated inside Centennial Olympic Park.
“I have overlapping sets this year, some of which was done on purpose,” he said. “I was trying to squeeze more bands on fewer stages. Whether it’s a good thing or bad thing … there are a lot of festival junkies like me that don’t need a full set of music to enjoy it. That especially applies to the bands that you’re discovering.”
As you prepare for musical discoveries this weekend, here are some pointers to help you navigate.
The basics.
When: Gates open at 11:30 a.m. Friday-Sunday The festival ends at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 10 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Three stages in Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, 265 Park Ave. W. N.W., Atlanta.
Tickets/wristbands: $99 (general admission daily pass); $185 (general admission three-day pass); $275 (VIP daily pass; VIP three-day passes are sold out. Tickets/wristbands can be purchased at www.shakykneesfestival.com. The on-site box office will be located directly across the street from the intersection of Walton Street Northwest and Centennial Olympic Park Drive Northwest. Hours are Thursday from 1 to 8 p.m. and Friday-Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. For any ticket/wristband issues, call 1-888-512-7469.
Transportation: For information about bus services and shared rides, visit www.shakykneesfestival.com .
Parking can be purchased in advanced for the nearby Red Deck ($14 daily or $40 for all three days) via the www.shakykneesfestival.com website.
MARTA riders can take the West Line to the Philips Arena/Dome/GWCC Station, or take the North Line to Peachtree Center, and follow the signs to Centennial Olympic Park.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
As in years past, a veteran pop act is part of the lineup.
Last year, it was Huey Lewis & The News. This year, Third Eye Blind receives the "heritage" tag. "I'd love to always have a band from the '80s, but it's about what's available. But there will always be something heritage because it's influential to me," Sweetwood said. "I'm like, go on Spotify and tell me you don't know eight songs (from these acts). People would whisper to me last year about Huey Lewis. I was like, why are you whispering, you should be shouting!"
Instead of crossing a makeshift bridge to an additional two stages, this year, Shaky Knees will maintain three stages in Centennial Olympic Park.
The decision, Sweetwood said, “was half financial and half just making sure we had a really good spot. It’s a lot of yin and yang. In my world, if I had Monopoly money, I’d have nine stages and 250 bands.”
But even with a reduced footprint…
Each stage will offer double the number of performances as last year, leading to only about 10 fewer bands than in 2016.
Tidbit of the festival.
Dr. Dog is the first band to play Shaky Knees three times. And there is a reason for that. “They’re fantastic human beings and they put on a great show,” Sweetwood said.
Oh, weather.
Shaky Knees has experienced everything from thunderstorms to blistering heat. This weekend, the forecast is calling for rain on Friday, but sun, bearable humidity and temperatures in the 70s and low 80s — aka Prime Festival Temps — the rest of the weekend.
But all Sweetwood can really do about Mother Nature is shrug.
“Even if the weather isn’t nice,” he said, “the show will go on.”
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SHAKY KNEES SCHEDULE
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
FRIDAY, MAY 12
Peachtree Stage
Noon — Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
1 p.m. — Zipper Club
2:15 p.m. — Temples
3:30 p.m. — Car Seat Headrest
5 p.m. — Wolf Parade
6:30 p.m. — Portugal. The Man
8 p.m. — Cage the Elephant
9:30 p.m. — LCD Soundsystem
Piedmont Stage
11:45 a.m. — Songs for Kids
12:15 p.m. — Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
1:30 p.m. — The London Souls
2:45 p.m. — Rainbow Kitten Surprise
4 p.m. — The Growlers
5:30 p.m. — Highly Suspect
7 p.m. — FIDLAR
8:30 p.m. — Pixies
Criminal Records Presents: Ponce de Leon Stage
12:15 p.m. — Cymbals Eat Guitars
1:30 p.m. — Lo Moon
2:45 p.m. — Margaret Glaspy
4:15 p.m. — Pinegrove
5:45 p.m. — Twin Peaks
7:15 p.m. — Preoccupations
8:45 p.m. — PUP
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
SATURDAY, MAY 13
Peachtree Stage
Noon: Flagship
1 p.m. — The Record Company
2:15 p.m. — Anderson East
3:30 p.m. — Shovels and Rope
5 p.m. — Catfish and the Bottlemen
6:30 p.m. — Sylvan Esso
8 p.m. — Nick Murphy
9:30 p.m. — The xx
Piedmont Stage
11:45 a.m. — Songs for Kids
12:15 p.m. — Public Access T.V.
1:30 p.m. — Mariachi El Bronx
2:45 p.m. — Bishop Briggs
4 p.m. — The Revivalists
5:30 p.m. — Dr. Dog
7 p.m. — Moon Taxi
8:30 p.m. — X Ambassadors
Criminal Records Presents: Ponce de Leon Stage
12:15 p.m. — Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest of Glass
1:30 p.m. — Foreign Air
2:45 p.m. — Run River North
4:15 p.m. — Mondo Cozmo
5:45 p.m. — Fantastic Negrito
7:15 p.m. — Lewis Del Mar
8:45 p.m. — Family and Friends
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
SUNDAY, MAY 14
Peachtree Stage
Noon — Con Brio
1:15 p.m. — Cloud Nothings
2:30 p.m. — Saint Motel
4 p.m. — J Roddy Walston & The Business
5:30 p.m. — Third Eye Blind
7 p.m. — The Shins
8:30 p.m. — Phoenix
Piedmont Stage
11:45 a.m. — Songs for Kids
12:30 p.m. — Hoops
1:45 p.m. — Whitney
3 p.m. — Hamilton Leithauser
4:30 p.m. — Warpaint
6 p.m. — Bleachers
7:30 p.m. — Ryan Adams
Criminal Records Presents: Ponce de Leon Stage
12:30 p.m. — Quaker City Night Hawks
1:45 p.m. — Great Peacock
3:15 p.m. — Arkells
4:45 p.m. — Fruit Bats
6:15 p.m. — Ron Gallo
7:45 p.m. — POND
