Live Review: Shaky Knees Music Fest at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, 9/18-20-26

The annual rock/indie rock music fest Shaky Knees was held for the thirteenth year in midtown Atlanta’s wonderful Piedmont Park. Up until last year, the fest had been presented from numerous other areas, the latest being Atlanta’s Central Park. The growing weekend concert once again took over Piedmont Park, former home to the long-running but now defunct Music Midtown Festival.

This was Shaky Knees first sellout weekend, with an estimated total crowd of 50,000+ per day rounding up to roughly 150,000 total attendees across the weekend. Not sure if we can refer to weather occurrences a “Shaky Knees Curse,” but again, they put lightning bolts in the logos! More below.

DAY ONE

New York City’s Geese revved up Saturday with their brand of experimental-indie rock music. Their recent meteoric rise, mainly resulting from their monster fourth release Getting Killed, has brought the band unrivaled exposure and a ton of fans. Singer Cameron Winter, whose solo album Heavy Metal also sold big, led the band through a fiery set of songs. Well-known hits such as “Taxes,” “Au Pays du Cocaine,” and “Trinidad” were true crowd pleasers. And the psyop robots were showing their emotional human sides!

Baltimore’s Turnstile hit the stage at 7:30 and neither the weekend, nor Atlanta, was ever the same. One of the most anticipated performances of the fest, the six-piece lived up to the hype. Kicking it off was the blistering “BIRDS,” from their latest, critical and commercial hit NEVER ENOUGH. My sixth Shaky Knees and I had yet to see a crowd so into a band. It was beautiful chaos. The five-member hardcore collection is a bit different, in that they know how to write a pop song. See the title track, as well as “I Care” for a joyful ride.

Lead singer and major crowd hyper Brendan Yates was a man possessed. He held the attention of the entire crowd as he jumped, kicked, and emoted on every song. Yates and the band are clearly students of Rage Against the Machine, as exhibited through the power drums, explosive guitar, and Yates channeling Zack de la Rocha with each breath.

The big screen behind the band looped moshing crowd scenes from previous shows, inspiring the Atlanta crowd to do the same. Like I said, beautiful chaos. Turnstile’s stock is rising worldwide, and with a recent slot on SNL, more fans are jumping on.

Dublin’s breakout success story is Fontaines D.C. The quintet’s world-changing fourth studio album, Romance, shot them into the stratosphere of success. With major hits “Starburster” and “Favourite,” they were/are in demand. The band played an inspired set of indie rock. But let’s just call it dance rock, as the crowd never stopped moving.

The Strokes, playing Shaky Knees for the third time, were a crowd fave. Playing a whopping six tunes from their debut album Is This It, the band was in rare form and somewhat redeemed themselves from a – let’s just say – sloppier performance during their last time. Crowd pleasers included “The Adults are Talking,” “Selfless,” and “You Only Live Once.”

Julian Casablancas was in good voice and the band’s sound quality was a close second to their beginnings some 25 years ago. Opening the show with “Dine N’Dash” from their new release Reality Awaits, the boys proved they still knew how to write and play solid rock songs.

DAY TWO

Is it nature’s tradition? A curse? A blessing? Whatever the cause, night two was blown out by severe thunderstorm warnings, sending festival goers scattering after the powers that be announced an emergency evacuation. My first thought was, “THIS SUCKS.” Then I thought of the artists who traveled to get here and take the stage for their hungry fans. Smack dab in the middle of the 6:30 sets for Taking Back Sunday and Blood Orange, the announcement hit. We’d all been watching the skies and checking our weather apps, knowing it looked bad. But still held out hope. As fans exited the park, security and door agents were yelling, “It’s over! Go home!” Bad advice.

It lightninged, thundered, and poured buckets of rain. Thousands of fans had nowhere to go but stand on the sidewalks and side streets. After at least an hour braving the elements, the skies cleared enough and fans trailed back into Piedmont Park. Confusion ruled as no one knew if it was, in fact, canceled, or if the show would go on. Finally, around ten o’clock, Twenty One Pilots took the stage and did about a one-hour show. During the evacuation, a few other bands missed their slot, most notably Pavement and The Prodigy (two of my must-sees).

Needless to say, people were pissed. Especially those who took the advice to “go home.” Social media and the Shaky Knees message boards were filled with raging from those who missed out. Many stated they had flown here, rented cars, booked hotel rooms, etc. This could have been handled better. Nonetheless, the Pilots kept their fans – who made it back in – very happy.

DAY THREE

Decent weather was back for the final day of the fest. Several well-known groups graced the Shaky stages early, including Jet, OK Go, and Modest Mouse. Staten Island Hip Hoppers Wu-Tang Clan opened with “Bring Da Ruckus,” and bring it they did. Fans seemingly became part of the collective, rapping along with the legends. Around the same time, Fcukers lit it up on a competing stage with their fierce electronic sounds. The NYC duo, consisting of Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker Lewis, roared through eighteen works. That beat was felt for miles.

And now for something completely different: Kentucky’s Knocked Loose blasted from the Ponce de Leon stage with a vengeance, blasting their hardcore punk sounds through the helpless speakers. It was a pallet cleansing, of sorts, for the eyes and ears of concertgoers. Lead vocalist Bryan Garris screamed through the hour set before closing with the ironically titled “Everything is Quiet Now.” It was anything but quiet!

James Murphy’s storied LCD Soundsystem became a highlight for fans. The band is described in many ways, dance punk revival being my favorite. For the lead-in to “I Can Change,” Murphy input pieces of Kraftwerk’s “The Model” and “Radioactivity,” a tip of the hat to one of LCD’s biggest inspirations. The songs that made them huge, “Dance Yrself Clean,” “All My Friends,” and “Home,” were featured with crowd reactions matching the band’s energy.

Murphy called it quits in 2011, releasing the critically acclaimed documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits telling the band’s story. The “hiatus” didn’t last long, as members reunited four years later, then releasing their fifth studio album American Dream. It became their first #1 album in the U.S. The break in no way affected their fanbase, and judging from their Shaky Knees performance, they’ll be around for a while.

The Sunday night headliner was Gorillaz, the British conglomerate headed up by Blur’s Damon Albarn. The band recently released their ninth studio album The Mountain to universal acclaim. Albarn’s genre switching hit the public 25 years ago with their self-titled debut album.

As longtime fans wished, Gorillaz played all the hits. “Feel Good, Inc.,” “Clint Eastwood,” “On Melancholy Hill,” and so many others were played with spirit. Several guests joined the band onstage who sang on the new album. Del the Funky Homosapien, Bootie Brown, EarthGang, DRAM, 6LACK, and Kara Jackson all showed up to support Gorillaz in Atlanta.

Despite the Saturday weather shenanigans, Shaky Knees 2026 was an overall success. Plenty of great bands to please everyone, food trucks galore, plenty to drink, and a weekend of mingling with like-minded music lovers. Always looking forward to this fest and ready to discover great music, old and new.

For the complete list of Shaky Knees 2026 setlists, click HERE.