As we prepare for the 2026 iteration of the Shaky Knees Festival, coming up next month, September 18th-20th, we wanted to reflect on the festival’s 2025 version, the first at Piedmont Park for the Atlanta festival.
Like my colleague Adam alluded to in our 2025 Shaky Knees post festival coverage, I too was overall a big fan of the Central Park location, dating back to the first time the fest was there before returning over the last few years. It was sort of a unique layout in the middle of the city that was spread out enough for the festival size, yet still felt intimate. Things just kind of seemed to work well there in my opinion as far as layout, ease of getting around including in and out of the fest, plus Central Park included what has probably been my favorite stage out every SK iteration, the small, intimate Criminal Records Stage under a small forest. That stage felt like one of those fests in a remote location, yet step out a few feet and you see the skyscrapers of the city. Plus there was Balconknees! So yeah, we were fans of Central Park. But change is inevitable, and with change there’s always some advantages and disadvantages to the change, dependent on your perspective of course.
Piedmont Park on the other hand is Atlanta’s iconic park that is made for and exists basically for people to hang out (not tennis or baseball that Central had), and well, have cool events at. As far as Atlanta festivals and music events go, Piedmont Park is THAT place. While the move to Piedmont Park for Shaky Knees felt like that next step to becoming that HUGE national festival, something that doesn’t always sound warm and fuzzy for those of us that have been here since the fest’s humble beginnings at the old Masquerade Music Park, the reality is it’s already become a national fest, and I’ve loved every minute of it. Heck, I’ve long considered Shaky Knees to be Atlanta’s preeminent fest, so why shouldn’t it be at Piedmont Park? This is a festival this city can be proud of, so the pairing only makes sense.
One of the first things I noticed with the change is that while Central Park isn’t far from Piedmont, the park and surrounding area of Piedmont Park is already a bustling area even on non festival weekends, as we know. With Central Park, the festival almost felt tucked away. You could be basically a block over from an entrance and you would barely realize a festival was going on over there. If you are trying to drive (which I do not recommend because of parking and the following words) or uber to Piedmont Park, it seems with normal traffic for the area, mixed with streets being blocked off and festival traffic, you realize a lot further away from the park that a festival or something major is happening. Being in a car and trying to get as close as possible for less walking, may just take longer than you expected, so add some extra time if that’s your method of getting there, or get out and walk.
The good news, MARTA to Piedmont Park is a breeze. Get off at the Midtown Station, walk a few blocks down 10th Street with other festival goers or just folks out to party along 10th, and well, you are there. MARTA is certainly the best bet depending on where you are coming from due to lack of parking and just traffic in and out of the area.
Sidenote, if you are getting off along Monroe Dr trying to get to the Beltline entrance off the street, the entrance is a little bit more of a hike than you may expect off the road. Plan accordingly (grab a scooter?).
So one of the first advantages I’d give Piedmont Park is perhaps the energy surrounding the park that just exists just even getting remotely close. There are already people everywhere without the festival, you step off MARTA and feel like you are heading to something big. And perhaps something that is more comforting to some, not only getting to the festival, but leaving the festival feels in a way, a little more safe if you are alone, not with the festival crowd. There are still people everywhere you walk towards. Though, of course always stay aware of your surroundings.
Back to that being big thing, once you step onto the festival grounds, as expected everything felt immediately big. While at Central Park, you were sort of walking down a narrow road with the crowd before making a turn towards some action or continuing on towards the other action, at Piedmont you basically walk through the gate feeling like you are already in it, not still on the journey towards. Whether food vendors at one entrance, or just right into the middle of the park at the other entrance in a sort of central hangout/vendor area, there were already people everywhere. Perhaps some of that was due to the later start on Friday, which at past fests would have been when the “late” crowd was getting there anyways, but at the same time, the Saturday and Sunday early start times felt a little more packed than years past. Again, there is some of the big festival energy as soon as you walk in.
Like years past, there were 4 stages, with each side of the festival grounds having 2 stages, and basically besides the headliners each night, there would be 2 artists playing in each time slot, one on each side of the festival grounds. And so yes, again, the stages did feel a little bigger. But the good news, for example, I thought the Criminal Records Stage didn’t necessarily lose that intimacy it’s been known for, which is a win in my book. I will still forever hold dear in my heart some of the sets from Criminal at Central, which included a lot of people crowd surfing over the years. Perfect spot. Luckily more crowd surfing memories were had and will be had at the Criminal Records stage at Piedmont Park.
As Adam mentioned in the post festival coverage, I’d agree with him that the distance between the two sets of stages at Central versus Piedmont wasn’t much different. I believe I’ve left Shaky Knees every single year saying my feet hurt, so Piedmont was no different in that sense. It’s not Bonnaroo, but if you are trading sides of the festival grounds throughout the three days instead of just trying to stick to one side, then you are going to get your steps in.
As the photographer for OE, I spend a lot of time walking around from the first three songs in the pit, to looking for different angles and views around the stages to shoot from near and far, or perhaps even a nice resting spot. One of things that I felt was slightly up a level at Piedmont Park is the different areas and ways to get a decent view at all four stages. There are plnety of hills around. There are trees with nice shade. While Central also had some nice hills and trees for cover from the sun, it felt like each stage at Piedmont had ways you could find a decent view, and perhaps under some shade. Even if you were a little far away, they were nice spots. Well if those nice spots weren’t already packed full of people anyways…
Other advantages of the move seemed to be upgraded porta potties, and even some urinals. Hey, these are the things that can make all the difference.
The two disadvantages, I’d call them, with the move that I saw was heat and dust.
Shaky Knees has typically been in early May, where over the years we really have been lucky with the weather overall. The first one was rainy and little of that wet cold, but other than that it’s been more of a shower here or there (some of them hella showers though), and/or maybe a day that was pretty dang hot, but other than that I think we typically got lucky with heat over the years. Now we are talking about September in Atlanta though, and while you may point out that it’s late September, which is like almost October, which is Halloween, so that’s essentially fall, right? Yeah, well, I went to my local Walgreen’s and before the calendar even hit August 1st, these fools already had the Halloween isle out, so no, almost fall in Atlanta means nothing. Maybe for the 2026 version we could get lucky and get some almost fall days, I mean it’s possible, but all I know is that the 2025 Shaky Knees felt like the hottest one on record to date. Now if the festival gods brings a fall-ish day to the 2026 festival, well, now that will be perfection (see the 1 SpookyKnees when SK was in October due to COVID, that was REAL NICE).
The dust on the other hand isn’t a new issue for Shaky Knees. I mean at Central Park, the Peachtree Stage was a baseball field. There was some real dust. But at times, surprisingly Piedmont Park felt even worse. For a park that is used everyday by millions of people, the 45,000+ people, or whatever the numbers came out to, packed into the park definitely kicked up plenty of dust. Like you weren’t just breathing it and feeling it, you could see it. So plan accordingly, a handkerchief or dare I say, a mask, would be a good thing to have handy. Or you can just tough it out like me, and feel the affects in the days after the fest ends, “for the love of the music”. I still feel good about it.
Really, other than that, things at Shaky Knees are sort of status quo. The festival itself has always been well run, and a little bigger scale hasn’t change that. If there is anything I’ve learned over the years, should one day at SK experience some issues such long lines to get in, or the food, or porta potties, or water stations, whatever it is, the SK team has things going properly by the next day. The only real issue I noticed for the 2025 version was an issue with the internet at Will Call on the first day, which was no doubt quickly remedied. Other than that, things generally ran well, sets were on time, lines never seemed outrageous for anything, there are plenty of food and drink areas on each side of the festival grounds and in the middle. It was easy to get around from stage to stage, and plenty of ways to stop, chill, meet folks, and grab a liquid of choice along the way.
But the best thing of all about Shaky Knees that still hasn’t changed since the beginning? The people.
Obviously it’s more than just the size of the festival that has grown, but also the different acts. This festival started as, and still is a Rock ‘n’ Roll festival, but really more of an indie rock festival at the very beginning. The lineups have always been diverse, at least in the rock world, everything from singer-songwriter type folk, to more electronic indie pops act, to the punk and even metal, and basically everything in between. But over the years, even that diversity has grown to some hip hop acts being added into the lineups alongside not just bigger name headliners, as far as reach, but more and more legacy acts such as DEVO and Sublime for example in 2025. The kind of artists that may bring out, locally and far away, people that wouldn’t have necessarily gone out of there way to go to the early SK versions.
And yet, even with the growth, the people at Shaky Knees, the audience, the attendees, hell you might as well add in the festival workers from security, to bartenders, to all the folks behind the scenes, have always been nothing but great. Ever attended Music Midtown at Piedmont Park? Remember all the teens taking over, fights, whatever? Oh you were one of those teens? I feel ya, I miss those days. But this isn’t that. People are generally nice, welcoming, with the main goal of enjoying the music. They aren’t there just for the selfies, the selfies are just a bonus. This is no Woodstock hippy love fest, for sure, but there is a community of love, respect, unity, and most of all, we are there for the music. It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s a festival that anyone from a teen to their grandfather can dig. Heck, I salute the folks that bring their young, young kids to this festival. I’m sure that isn’t easy, but I think anyone that has attended Shaky Knees can agree, that these parents are raising their kids right.
So all in all, Shaky Knees since it’s start has been nothing but a safe, good time, surrounded by people that are at minimum like-minded in their love of music, nothing else matters beyond that, which is a thing of beauty and keeps me coming back every single year. Heck, in this current climate, you could say that I NEED that in my life. September 18th can’t get here soon enough. None of this has changed over the years, and hasn’t with the move to Piedmont Park either. Shaky Knees culture has already been built for years.
Then we are just onto the music itself. The cool thing for me with headliners like My Chemical Romance and Blink-182 this year, or even Muse last year, at this point, I’m probably not that into them enough to pay big $$ to see them in an arena type venue. Yet I got the full on Blink-182 experience that was full of literal fire at Shaky Knees alongside a WHOLE bunch of sets I dug, some, who knows, I may never get to see again. We could talk about how killer it was to have DEVO on the SK stage sounding as good as ever, the Deftones punk energy, or the total 90s nostalgia that the new Sublime brought, but for me, it has always been and always will be more about the acts in the smaller print, the meat and bones of the festival lineup. That’s where Shaky Knees has always excelled, and continues to. It’s about seeing an artist on the up and up for the first time live, or some of the acts from across the sea that don’t make it here enough and I may not get to see without this festival.
Heck, look no further than Geese on the 2026 lineup next month, now in those BIG letters and one of the major draws of the 2026 iteration. I remember when they played Shaky Knees in 2021, I believe some of them may have still been in high school at the time, just young kids rocking out on stage. Now they are one of the hottest bands in the world and on their way to headliner status of a festival this size. Pretty wild.
But again, that’s why I love Shaky Knees. Now I get to see more of those legacy type acts I may not usually see, but Tim Sweetwood has always known how to put together a lineup all the way down to the smallest print. I may know and listen to a lot of music, but if there are artists I’m not familiar with on the lineup, I know they are still going to be worth checking out. 2025 was certainly no different.
So yeah, no matter the lineup, no matter the place, I’ve been to every Shaky Knees and I can say it’s worth it every single time. I can not wait for September 18th!
Here’s where I’m at as far as what I saw, heard, and felt at Shaky Knees 2025. I will break these into groups. The order of each group is purely by day/time they played the festival.
THE FIRST FIVE:
These first five were probably my favorites sets at SK25, if in a little bit of unexpected way. The next groups down includes some of the sort of obvious, those were going to be fire sets, not that some of these weren’t somewhat obvious too, but these sets felt a little unexpectedly extra special. They all grabbed my attention in a different way, but each made me stay as long as I possibly could before heading to the next set I would shoot. These sets really stood out.
The Marías
Magical really. From the stage setup, to Maria just gliding around the stage so eloquently, to one of the most engaged crowds from the front all the way to the back, it was really just a perfect, transcending type set. While I was really looking forward to seeing this band live for the first time, a dream pop type band doesn’t have the same energy as some of the punk types on the rest of this list, so you never really know how it will all come off at a festival setting. But the vibe was on point from start to finish on this one. Honestly, I’m glad this set was under the city stars instead of the sun. It all came together as one of the most memorable sets of the weekend.
Fat Dog
Going in, yeah, I was super pumped to see Fat Dog live. But as far as I’m concerned, they won the whole weekend. Wore out from a great first day of the festival, we headed to The EARL tired and not sure how long we would make it for their Late Night Set after the fest wrapped up for the evening. But any thoughts of going home early ended from the first note. Non stop energy from the band and crowd, we danced, we fist pumped, we screamed, we all just released all the bad vibes. There was non stop participation between the crowd and the band, with different band members spending lots of times singing, screaming and dancing right there together with their fans, whether that be the hard floors of the The EARL or the hopping the fence and in the grass with the crowd at the fest.
If you want me to split it up, yeah, the Late Night Set at The EARL is #1. You just can’t match the energy in that room. But that wasn’t actually part of the festival itself? Okay fine. Their festival set still won the weekend, even if for a smaller crowd compared to some others on this list.
CMAT
Wow. I mean CMAT was getting pub across the pond and really world wide, but I had no idea what to truly expect, and just wow. SOOOOOO many people made a mistake missing this set. But I guarantee every single person who was at the Criminal Records Stage for this set left just as blown away as I was. Heck, I saw all of you dancing along, so I know it’s true. So many ass slaps, nipple rubs, sexy looks, legs flying in the air, non stop movement, non stop dancing, I mean line dancing even, self-deprecating humor, wit, pride and personal insight into who it is to be CMAT, this loud, non apologetic goddess. You laugh with her, you cry, but if there is one take away, it is to be yourself and love yourself.
And while you got all of that, here’s the thing, CMAT and her band are UBER talented too. Like really really good. Her EURO-COUNTRY sound is legit, backed by some real players.
I suspect it would be hard to see CMAT live and not enjoy her set, no matter the setting. That’s certainly what I saw at Shaky Knees. This was definitely my surprise set of the whole weekend.
English Teacher
This was one of the most unique sets of the weekend, another big surprise in some ways, while at the same time not necessarily being that surprising. They did win the Mercury Prize after all and all that. What I loved, and especially found unique, was they started their sets off with a number of more slow burning songs that build a wall of sound. They waited for their more upbeat numbers until later in the set.
It’s kind of a gamble in a way, potentially losing some in the crowd at fest like this. But if anything, they were just being them, doing what they do. My first thought was how insanely good this set would be a small club like The EARL, but when I snapped out of my trance and looked around the crowd, it was obvious it was translating to this fest crowd. From there they took us on a journey, from the more energetic, to the passion, to the rawness. There was swaying, head banging, and even a full on dance party in the crowd during this set. There was truly beautiful moments, there were painful moments. This set literally had it all. Pure talent on display, all the hype deserved, and I am looking even more forward to what the future holds for English Teacher after seeing them at Shaky Knees.
Alabama Shakes
Look, I certainly loved Alabama Shakes at their start to their peak. I was quite happy to hear they were getting back together and playing Shaky. But I can’t say that I necessarily thought I’d come out of the weekend with them in my so-called top 5 sets. Here we are though.
If anything, they stopped in my tracks. Then again, this probably isn’t the first time I’ve said something like that when referencing seeing Brittany Howard live in any capacity. She will literally do that to you. But damn if the band didn’t just sound absolutely great being back together, plus add in the lot of talented backup singers, it was a perfect, groovy early evening set.
And to put it over the top, Brittany took a little time between songs to talk to the people about things like unity. Honestly, I wish I had a recording of her speech that I could transcribe here for everyone. It was the type of speech that I wish we were hearing from the leaders of this country, instead of them trying to tear us apart, but I digress. My heart was filled with all love during this one.
REHASH, BUT OBVIOUSLY
Let’s be real, if these guys are on the festival lineup, this has, and always will be one of the best sets.
IDLES
It’s IDLES. What else is there to say? This is what, their third time to play the fest? Am I getting old for not remembering exactly? Or is it that I’ve stood too close the stage of a IDLES set too many times at SK over the years? Is there such as thing as standing to close to the stage too many times for an IDLES set? I’d argue no on that.
So yeah, this was all totally expected. It was raw power and energy like always. Their set is an existential release, every damn time. I feel like I can confidently say that IDLES will always be making my list of top festival sets if/when I see them at festivals.
BASICALLY NEWCOMERS, BUT YEAH, PRETTY MUCH OBVIOUSLY
While this was the first time seeing this group live, it’s not like I didn’t know each of these artist’s sets would be fire beforehand. Yet, I can say they all not only lived up to their reputations, but I can also say that each exceeded my already high expecations, each in their own way.
Lambrini Girls
While it was my first time seeing Lambrini Girls live, this one might as well be in the obviously category with IDLES as I went in fully expecting an IDLES level set and that’s exactly what we got. The same raw punk energy and power, while not being afraid to speak up politically and fight for the people, fight the power. They lived up to the billing and more.
Die Spitz
Another punk band, another one that was obvious going in, especially considering their reputation that has been building. Another one that lived up. Hair was flying everywhere, the mosh pit was live and non stop, there was screaming, head banging, and literally non stop chaos.
Scowl
Like Die Spitz, Scowl is another punk type band that leans more hardcore at times, so once again, you expected a good, ummm, quite lively set going in. And once again, that’s exactly what we got and more. The unexpected traits I picked up from Scowl, is while, yeah, there is the screaming and all that, but there is a more melodic pieces throughout their songs that stood out. The lead singer Kat in one hell of front person, and makes sure to take their set to the next level by encouraging the party. And party it was. This may have just been the wildest crowd of the weekend. The mosh pit was strong, and the crowd surfing was non stop.
The Linda Lindas
I expected a fun one and got a fun one. If anything, I came out of this with so much respect for the talent for these young ladies, heck I think the drummer was still like 15. It’s wild how good they are. And don’t mistake their sweetness either, because despite that, they aren’t afraid to use their power. They are punk rock in fact. Honestly the set was so refreshing, they do it all, from the screamy punk, to the riot girl harmonies, The Linda Lindas are non stop, and the large crowd rocked right along with them.
THE NEXT TRUE ROCK STARS
Since the literal minute they released their first single, was there ever any doubt?
Wet Leg
When Rhian Teasdale walked out onto the stage and flexed for the crowd, it just had that feel of watching history live, ya know? Like this is that next huge rock ‘n’ roll band. When I first got the chance to look around the crowd, it felt as though everyone was just in awe, entranced by the look, the backlights just enhancing it all, the pure power that graced the stage.
This was all expected. We knew their first single blew up overnight, and they are still making waves with their second album already. But to actually see it all live and in person confirmed it all. Really talented band with a high energy set that knocked the socks off the packed crowd. Wet Leg are rock ‘n’ roll stars.
JUST VIBES
It was an early set, and may not have that punk energy of a lot of above, but damn if the vibes weren’t just NICE for an early afternoon.
Improvement Movement
Shoutout to the hometown band Improvement Movement. They owned the big stage for the perfect early set that showed why their buzz has gone well beyond Atlanta. Really, they just brought the sunny vibes with a perfect set to throw down a blanket and take it all in. The Laurel Canyon vibes, the harmonies, the psychedelia, a throw back sound, that feels so new and fresh. Improvement Movement brought a whole different groove from the rest of the fest that really stuck out.
HONORABLE MENTION
There are so many artists from 2025 who’s sets I dug that I haven’t even mentioned, but I wanted to give one extra special shout here.
4 Non Blondes
I really had no idea what to expect. Not only because they were newly reunited after what 30 years away, but let’s be real, I knew and loved “What’s Up”. I did not own the album or really know the other songs. But they came out and immediately went into a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll”, leaving no doubt that this band is full of pros. I mean Linda Perry is a legend after all. But damn, whether a cover or 4 Non Blondes original, they really did sound great, and put on an impressive set. The crazy thing, the one song I wanted to hear, “What’s Up”, I had to leave early before they played it so I could be ready to shoot the DEVO set on the other side at the Peachtree Stage. Yet, even without, I came away way more impressed, really than I expected.
I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings us! Check back for our upcoming Shaky Knees 2026 preview as we look through each time slot to find the best bets through each day. It should be another great one.
All photos above by Mike Gerry
