Nobody at Shaky Knees stole the show like Greta Van Fleet. Ready for a quote? Yeah you are.
“It’s the best rock and roll I’ve heard in 20 fucking years. These guys are so talented, they take my breath away.” – Sir Elton John.
High praise, to be sure. But after seeing them on the big stage mid-afternoon on Saturday at Shaky Knees, it’s fair praise. They have a rack just to collect all the bras that get thrown on stage. The only bras thrown all weekend, to my knowledge. Rock ‘n’ roll is apparently still alive.
Greta Van Fleet, for the uninitiated, are twin brothers Josh and Jake Kiszka (22) on vocals and guitar, respectively, along with their younger brother Sam (19) on bass, and their longtime family friend Danny Wagner (also 19) on drums. They all grew up in Frankenmuth, Michigan, which is akin to, say, Helen, Georgia in its size and its German appropriation for purposes of tourism and family fun.
What’s so amazing about the youngsters is that even though they borrow extensively from the imagery and themes of classic rock, and even though lead singer Josh Kiszka sounds almost identical to Robert Plant, (and struts like Freddy Mercury) they aren’t so much retreading classic rock as they are reviving it authentically. They rocked so hard. It was just an awesome set. Like seeing a band way before they peaked. Imagine catching The Beatles at some festival in like 1961. It was like that. The bras were flying.
Danny Wagner
And we sat down with drummer Danny Wagner after their set for an interview. ~ Adam Kincaid
Adam Kincaid: You felt like when you get a chance to see a double-A baseball sensation before he gets to the bigs. This last year must’ve been a rocketship for you.
Danny Wagner: Yeah, a rocketship. That’s the word for it, it took off so quickly. We (Sam and I) graduated high school on June 1st and on the 4th we headed to Sweden. It’s so surreal.
AK: What are you guys like away from the stage, and the rock personas?
DW: We’re all kind of nerds away from the stage, but we adapt pretty well.
AK: Your lead singer is like a future legend of rock and roll, and each of you have these budding personas. Is there a band you kind of compare yourself to in the rock stratosphere?
DW: For the longest time, we kind of associated ourselves with all those acts but now we’re really trying to carve out our own legend.
AK: When was the last time you played on a smaller stage?
DW: Last time? Recently, actually. Just in the last 6 months. The thing is, we took off so quickly. So, we still have shows booked from six or nine months prior, and by the time they catch up with us we’re back and forth between big shows and smaller ones, sometimes playing in front of like 175 people. So yeah, we’re actually still playing small shows from time to time, but most of our shows today are more like 2,000 fans.
AK: And people are excited. All the bras?
DW: Yeah, haha. That happens.
AK: What does the next year look like for you?
DW: We’re working our way up. We have lighting that we carry with us now. We’re working on a new album. In the next couple years or so, it would be amazing to be playing arenas. Arena rock is a real thing, and it’s where our sound fits best.
AK: Arenas next year? Amazing considering where you were at a year ago.
DW: Yeah, we’d just released our material around this time last year. And we really weren’t expecting all of this. It’s been amazing.
All photos by Mike Gerry. Check out more from Greta Van Fleet’s set at Shaky Knees:
Greta Van Fleet Online:
Website // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram
Greta Van Fleet Upcoming Tour Dates:
05/18 – Columbus, OH @ Rock on the Range Music Festival
05/20 – Gulf Shores, AL @ Hangout Music Festival
05/22 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
05/23 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
05/25 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
06/01-03 – Mendig, DE @ Rock am Ring Festival
06/01-03 – Nuremberg, DE @ Rock im Park Festival
06/18 – Paris, FR @ Download Festival Paris
07/08 – Toronto, ON @ Rebel
07/10 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
07/18 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
07/20 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
07/23 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
07/27 – Floyd, VA @ Floydfest
07/29 – New York, NY @ Panorama Music and Arts Festival
07/31 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
08/01 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
