With the 2015 version of Shaky Knees Festival‘s official schedule being announced, now it’s time to start planning out your own personal schedule.
For those difficult decisions, we present to you the Shaky Knees Death Match. We will have each band in every time slot pitted against each other. You make the decision on who you must catch. Check back daily as we explore each time slot.
Shaky Knees Saturday Day 2, 3:45PM time slot has 3 great bands all worthy of catching, and plenty of punk influence including The Devil Makes Three at the Piedmont Stage, The Black Lips at the Ponce De Leon Stage and Fidlar at the Buford Highway Stage.
The Devil Makes Three – Piedmont Stage
By Mike Gerry
The Devil Makes Three is an acoustic trio based in Santa Cruz, CA (members from New England) made up of two guitarists and a string bassist. While they are considered a blues and country trio, you can find plenty of punk influences in their music despite the lack of a drummer.
TDM3 is an alt country band that always gets the crowd dancing, perfect for a foot stomping good time at a festival like Shaky Knees! Through 4 albums, including their latest I’m A Stranger which they put out on the great indie label New West Records, The Devil Makes Three has been building quite the following playing festivals like Newport Folk, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and more.
Now TDM3 is ready to take the Piedmont Stage of Shaky Knees by storm. If your a little bit country, or just not really into the punk scene of the the other two bands, then this is the stage for you. Knees will be slapped, boots will be shaking, and there is going to be plenty of dancing around at 3:45, and there is no doubt a good time will be had by all. So come on out, and let’s get our slap on!
The Black Lips – Ponce De Leon Stage
By Charles Worthy
ATL represent! The Black Lips, your friendly neighborhood punk rock band since 2003, will be tearing up the Ponce De Leon stage on Saturday at Shaky Knees Music Festival, your favorite neighborhood music festival since 2011. Match made in heaven, right?
Black Lips started making waves on the local scene during the mid-2000s, thanks in large part to their legendarily raucous live performances. Fans stage diving into the crowd? Check. Errant spit spewing from their lead guitar player? Check. The ceremonial burning of their own pubic hair while playing mid-song? Check, and double check.
But Black Lips are far from a novelty act. The band saw a huge uptick in their national following after 2007’s Good Bad Not Evil garnered an 8.3 rating and a “Best New Music” nod from taste-making music publication Pitchfork. They followed that up with two equally well-received full-length albums in 200 Million Thousand and Arabia Mountain, and they are currently touring on their most recent record, 2014’s Underneath the Rainbow. All of this is to say, Black Lips playing their hometown festival is not some kind of charity case. This band is the Atlanta rock scene, rising to the top of an impressive crop that includes the likes of Deerhunter, Mastodon, and the Coathangers.
While there are some other like-minded groups playing during this time slot (FIDLAR probably being the most similar), I would still implore you to catch this triumphant return to their hometown. I can tell you, from multiple experiences, that this is a can’t-miss. If you call yourself an ATLien, go and see Black Lips (Now with less spit!). Veni Vidi Vici.
Fidlar – Buford Highway Stage
By Enna Garkusha
Take a chance and see FIDLAR perform on Saturday at 3:45 on the Buford Highway Stage. After all, FIDLAR stands for “Fuck it dog, Life’s a risk.”
Based out of Los Angeles, the band emerged as part of a skate punk resurgence. Their debut self-titled EP came out in 2013 with tracks titled “Cheap Beer,” “Cocaine,” and “Wake Bake Skate” which sound like a pretty accurate depiction of life for a group of young musicians living in Southern California. Now they’re on a tour of the States and Europe, coming a long way from that band that used to play surf garage punk at house parties.
Their set sounds like the perfect place to be if you get too drunk on Saturday afternoon, be sure to check it out. And by the way, their music video for “Cocaine” features Parks and Recreations’ Nick Offerman just pissing everywhere for your viewing pleasure. Wholesome, huh?
Check out these artists on the Shaky Knees Spotify Playlist
