SHAKY KNEES 2021: From The Photog – Top 14 Sets

Shaky Knees Music Festival took place on an absolutely perfect October Atlanta weekend after cancelling the 2020 version and postponing the 2021 festival from it’s usual late April/early May spot. And damn I got to say, October sure looks nice on you Shaky Knees. Either way, the festival returns back to it’s regularly scheduling programming on April 29-May 1, 2022 with Early Bird tickets set to go on-sale November 3rd. Before we move on to 2022 though, let us rejoice back upon what was Shaky Knees 2021. Damn it felt good to be back.

As the resident OE photographer on this Shaky Knees weekend, probably my favorite weekend every year, I’ve maybe got a slightly different view than the average festival attendee. Or who knows, maybe your festival basically goes the same as mine trying to catch as many different artists as possible….which is obviously good and bad. You are not staying in one place. You catch clips of different artists instead of being able to fully immerse yourself in the music through a whole set. Honestly it’s a give and take, depending on what you want your festival experience to be. There are definitely times when I feel like I’ve missed out on something special traveling from stage to stage, which luckily has always been fairly easy to do at Shaky Knees in Central Park. No doubt the feet did have a hurting put on them this Shaky weekend though.

What I do know is that there were plenty of artists who stood out throughout the weekend who just caught the ole ear (and eye) and made me wish I was there for their full sets. I’m sure there are some artists that could have made my top list had I been able to catch more, but then again some bands are just made to stand out on a festival weekend like this; they are built for it with a different energy onstage that will hype a crowd to the core. How could they not stand out? These are the sets that immediately stood out as I look back on my Shaky Knees 2021 weekend:

Sidenote: looking at my tops sets, feeling pretty good about my pre-fest “predictions”, SHAKY KNEES 2021: The Undercard – 10 Under The Radar Artists to Catch

Check out our SHAKY KNEES 2021: The Friday Edition – Day 1 Review here

Check out our SHAKY KNEES 2021: The Saturday Edition – Day 2 Review here

Check out our SHAKY KNEES 2021: The Sunday Edition – Day 3 Review here

Frankie & The Witch Fingers

Nailed it, Frankie & The Witch Fingers pretty much ruled Friday for me. Killer set all around.

Black Pistol Fire

Just go see this band live. That’s all that needs to be said. Don’t know their music, missed their set, never seen them live? Just book tickets to the next show of theirs you can and thank us later.

Geese

Young, raw on stage, and worth the price of admission. There is still that brand new-ness to this band when it comes to live music, which leads to an unplanned boil of energy that releases out of these kids. Fantastic.

Neal Francis

This dude is a ball of energy, even if he is behind a piano or keyboard. Hair flying everywhere and with a killer band that can definitely get any crowd grooving. Neal Francis is 100% the real deal.

Cloud Nothings

Didn’t even get to photograph them. but showed up to a cloud of dust around the Criminal Records stage with the crowd in a frenzy and plenty of crowd surfing. Mesmerized.

The Hives

The word going around Saturday morning was how insanely great The Hives Late Night set at Center Stage was the night before, and after catching them at Shaky Knees, there’s no doubt that buzz was legit. Really really great live, and damn funny too.

Lunar Vacation

Started at Portugal. The Man over on Peachtree for the first three, but had to jet it over to Criminal Records Stage to catch the hometown favorites who just released their debut album. Damn glad I did leave there too. The crowd over there was ALIVE for the magic that is Lunar Vacation. It’s really amazing what this young band has already built (and it’s only the beginning). And of course, they got to have one of those special festival type moments when their friend Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and his band The Aubreys joined Lunar Vacation on stage. The crowd went wild.

IDLES

I mean at this point, dare I say they are the greatest current rock ‘n’ roll band on the planet? I couldn’t miss the opportunity to shoot Alice Cooper, who was playing at the same time as IDLES, which hurt my heart a little bit to miss IDLES, so I high-tailed it over to Ponce to catch the some of IDLES. And yeah, once again I’m reminded why the hype is very real for this band.

Run The Jewels

You knew this was going to be hype and it sure was, led by Atlanta’s own hero Killer Mike. On point.

Bartees Strange

The crowd wasn’t huge being the first set on Sunday, but those that saw him live know that Bartees Strange is the real deal as he was able to corral those surrounding the Piedmont Stage into his world with his brand of futuristic indie rock. Punk, Hip Hop, Emo, Indie Rock, no matter what this dude was throwing at us or when, it damn sure worked.

Delta Spirit

It feels weird to say this because I already know how freaking good Delta Spirit is having seen them a number of times, but I was reminded (once again) that this is one of the greatest bands over the last 15 years or so. Old stuff, new stuff, it all still is perfection in 2021. There really isn’t much better than a Delta Spirit set.

Orville Peck

Good ole-fashioned country music disguised in an indie rock mask (ok, not really, but maybe he stole it from a wrestler or something idk). The mask isn’t just some prop that got this rising star some notoriety, no this dude is the real deal and surrounded by a talented group of musicians that brought the Shaky Boots to Shaky Knees. Deep vocals, duets, cowboy hats, this set had it all.

black midi

black midi was insane and it doesn’t even make sense. Like what am I listening to? And damn if it isn’t great. Attention grabbing, raw. and pure fire. This is a band you don’t want to miss live when the opportunity rises, and I a feeling we will see them back at future Shaky Knees.

All Them Witches

These guys will blow off your ear drums, and All Them Witches slayed the Ponce stage with a heavy set of psychedelic fuzz that had the crowd wild.

Honorable Mention

Arlo Parks

Smooth and soulful, good afternoon set.

Tennis

I mean Tennis is always good for some grooving, perfect for that enjoyable day time set.

Joy Oladokun

She really is a songwriter on the rise.

Alice Cooper

Honestly spending most of my time at smaller shows in the indie rock world, I almost forget what big time rock ‘n’ roll is and/or was. I mean, when the curtain dropped revealing the set design as Cooper came on stage and a band that harkens back to the heyday of glam rock, it just kind of hit me. Like, whoa, I totally forgot about this whole other side of what live music is, what showmanship is. Honestly, out of all the great artists at SK, or all the amazing artists that I see live every year that absolutely kill it, they can’t hold a candle to Alice Cooper and what he does. It’s just different than my usual these days.

Phoebe Bridgers

I mean Phoebe sounded absolutely fantastic, and with a fanbase absolutely OBSSESSED, it’s hard not to engulfed in her music alongside the crowd. Weirdly this might have been one of the louder sets from the pit, despite her music not being anywhere near as heavy as many on this list. Those front of fans are LOUD. And Phoebe sure deserves all the accolades she earned over the last few years. Fantastic.

All photos by Mike Gerry