It’s that time of year again, music lovers! Time to get outside, get some sun, and hear your favorite bands in new or familiar settings. Joining the list of summer festivals we think you should definitely attend this year is the local new kid on the block, Shaky Knees Music Festival.
Shaky Knees Music Festival, which will span both Saturday, May 4th and Sunday May 5th, boasts a delightful indie folk/ rock lineup which will span three stages in Atlanta’s Historic Fourth Ward Park and the Masquerade Music Park. Single day tickets are still available, as well as tickets for the late night Black Angels/ Goat show on Saturday. Please do not wait to buy them at the fest; we’re sure this is going to sell out.
There are over thirty bands playing the festival, so to help you out, we’ve got our picks for must-sees for both days. We know you’ve got the big guns under control, but both days offer amazing bands from start to finish, and we’re here to help with the rest of your concert schedule.
Kicking off the festival Saturday at 12:30 at the North Avenue Stage is Tumbleweed Wanderers, a soulful folk/ rock group hailing from Oakland, CA. This band cleverly draws in an audience in a hushed, exposed way, then energetically switches to an upbeat groove that will have you dancing. Their debut album, So Long, was released last year and produced by John Vanderslice.
Los Angeles quartet Vintage Trouble performs at 2:30 and if you need a LOT of soul in your life—don’t miss them. At 3:30 we suggest jam/ prog rockers Moon Taxi at the Masquerade Park Stage.
Flip a coin. The 7:30 time slot on Saturday night is a difficult choice. We love both Jim James and J. Roddy Walston, so we don’t know which to tell you to pick. Choose wisely.
Sunday we think Swear and Shake will start the festival off right with their boisterous indie rock at 12:30 on the North Ave Stage. From there we’d head to see Frontier Ruckus, who deliver very honest lyrics nestled in some of the most beautifully orchestrated music the festival has to offer.
From there we strongly suggest duo Shovels and Rope, who first caught our eye in Cleveland on tour with Butch Walker and the Black Widows. Follow them up with folk rockers Murder by Death, then back to the 04W Park Stage for Delta Spirit.
The 5:00 slot offers another coin-tosser, but we’d lean towards up-and-comers Oberhofer. They’re the perfect band for the early afternoon pick-me-up that you’ll need to get through the rest of the show. They’re energetic, ambitious, and very good at drawing the crowd in with witty banter between songs. Dr. Dog owns the 6:00 slot at the 04W Park Stage. At 7:00 we suggest Brooklyn darlings The Antlers, who intricately fuse together each instrument in their set in a beautifully organic way.
Check out the complete schedule here to create your own schedule if our choices don’t tickle your fancy. We’ll see you out there in beautiful Atlanta!
