Shaky Knees Music Festival

Central Park is a park I’ve never heard of (outside of NY), even though I’ve lived here close to 5 years. It’s just off the Civic Center MARTA or North Springs MARTA exit. And let me tell you… Don’t take the Civic Center exit if you care about your life or possessions. The first few times, I took the North Springs M because it was suggested on the website, but then when I mapped it later, I noticed the Civic Center M was closer and decided to take that. Luckily it was during the day, and other people were going to the festival. I basically ran into a group, politely (albeit awkwardly) stating: «Sorry to barge in here, but this place is littered with creepy people, and I’m thinking safety in numbers.» A few moments after I said that, one of the guys I was walking with noticed that a homeless person tried to take something from his friend’s purse. He reached in to grab it from her, but let his hand fall back. And people wonder why I have disgust, disdain, and contempt for the homeless population of Atlanta…
The application they used is seriously a must. It is one of the best festival app maps I have EVER used, because it was location-​based. If you were looking for a particular stage, then you could click on it and be taken right to that stage. Dragon Con could learn from that… Granted, it was only the stages that you could be led to, not anything else like water or food, which would have also had its uses.
PROS:
–Awesome Shaky Knees app.
–Stages were set up pretty well, so there was little to no interference between two artists who ended up playing at the same time.
–About a 20 minute walk from MARTA; more or less convenient.
–Fast and easy to get the wristbands.
–There were so many shaded areas. Granted, they weren’t always close to the stage, but close enough that you could still hear the music.
–Waterproof wristband. (similar to the Bonnarro one)
–Bands were pretty prompt with their play times. (usually within a 5 minute window)
–Free water stands, which were never super crowded.
–Tons of food trucks.
–Some of the stages were sloped in such a way that in the middle, you could see over the heads of people at the front.
–I constantly saw workers cleaning up bottles and trash, so at least they attempted to keep it clean.
CONS:
–Food and drinks were (of course) expensive. Dos Equis beer was something like $ 7. HA. HA.
–The volunteers didn’t know important things like… Where water was located. I mean, how does that even happen? That’s one thing you SHOULD know.
–The Civic Center MARTA entrance walks you right through Hobo Square. Avoid it.
–Snacks weren’t allowed in, not even the small kinds. I think allowing someone to bring in a granola bar is unlikely to dissuade a truly hungry person from buying food there.
–Huge lines for every food truck there. I didn’t eat at any, but the lines were often 20+ deep in every single row.
–People treated the fountains where you washed your hands like trash cans. Gross.
–Some Porta Potties ran out of toilet paper halfway through the day, and didn’t seem to be refilled with it… Ew.
–Pricey tickets for the experience and quality of bands that played.
–Everything was pretty much done by 11pm.
–Smokers were rampant. And I don’t mean the dank, but manageable, smell of weed… Nor the hookah smell of e-​cigs. No, it was the disgusting smell of cigarette smokers. Get the hell out of the pit if you’re going to smoke and hold a lighted cigarette near my face. (also, the park is a non-​smoking place, so I’m surprised they allowed Shaky Knees to play here, with the considerable damage all those dropped butts are going to do to the wildlife and integrity of the park)
–Where are the small stages/​shows that showcase underrated artists?
THE VERDICT:
Compare it to Bonnaroo which is 4 days (all day), at about $ 300. When I got my ticket a couple of years ago, I got a pre-​sale ticket for $ 250. Bonnaroo has over 200 bands, so you’re definitely getting more band for your buck. Shaky Knees is 3 days (started around 11am, stopped at 11pm), at about $ 200. It had about 80 bands. Why am I comparing these two vastly different sized festivals? Because Shaky Knees has a fairly comparative price point to Bonnaroo, at only $ 50 – 100 more. And if you came from out of town, you’re no doubt paying $ 150+ per night for a nearby hotel, actually making it less cost effective than Bonnaroo.
While I enjoyed the festival, I believe the pricing wasn’t accurate. It’s much more worthy of around $ 120 for 3 days pricing (which is what their pre-​sale actually is). It reminded me a lot of Warped Tour, except… Less bands and less adults… Of course the reason I came was to see Brand New (I bought advanced tickets before the schedule was announced), but I probably wouldn’t buy a pass to Shaky again unless they offered better music; the price and experience aren’t worth it. Maybe in a couple of years Shaky can be comparable to an amazing festival, but for now they’ve definitely got room for improvement.

Whew. Three full days of great music and unrelenting sunshine can do a number on a middle-​aged body. The new venue at Central Park in the Old Fourth Ward worked well for the five stages: Peachtree; Piedmont; Ponce de Leon; Boulevard; Buford Highway.
My favorite stage — not band — stage, would have to be the Buford Highway stage, only because it was covered and provided a brief respite from the big yellow ball of fire in the sky. Highlights on the Buford Highway stage included Tennis and The Damnwells. Tennis really blew me away with their live sound on Friday afternoon. They are a legitimate, rocking band; hopefully their next album will cut back on the heavy production and let their signature sound shine through.
The concrete jungles of the Ponce and Boulevard stages were the toughest in the sunshine; only VIPs beat the heat in their covered two-​story pavilion between the two. Still, not sure I’d recommend spending the extra cash for some shade — you could find shady spots among the trees off to the side — but you’d sacrifice a little sound for the comfort. I’m glad I saved my money this year. My favorites here included Wavves, Mac DeMarco, and Steve Gunn.
Over in the actual Central Park, the Peachtree and Piedmont stages hosted the big name bands. TV on the Radio stormed the Piedmont Stage Friday evening as the crowds started to swell. Frisbees flew at the back of the Peacthree stage on Sunday afternoon, while The Both took the stage in the afternoon heat. (They almost had a keyboard malfunction due to the high temps.) Let me just say for the record: Aimee Mann is a total badass. Love her! (Ted Leo is pretty cool too.)
My favorite performance of the weekend, hands down, was the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans. Pure joy. Didn’t feel the heat, the sun, or the crowds during their entire (and too short) performance.
The crowd energy over all three days was fairly mellow, everyone good-​natured and happy to be out and about in the big city. Loved the free water stations and the fact I could walk (or $ 5 Über) back and forth from home to the festival.

I liked last year’s line up better last year but that’s personal preference. Last year the highlight was Modest Mouse, Violent Femmes, Spoon, The Magnetic Zeros.
This year I chose to see Got to see cool costumes, Interpol, Tame Impala, Strokes, Built to Spill, Pixies, Milky Chance (my fav!), Flogging Molly, Old Crow Medicine Show, Minus the Bear, Avett Brothers and Mastodon (and liked it).
Clearly this year was bigger and so was the venue. Did anyone notice, this is where they had Music Midtown back in the 90s before the neighborhoods got mad and had it done away with.
Everyone agreed, this is a better venue and set up. Plenty of potties, hand washing units, trash cans, recycling, and liquor vendors. I am glad I found more vendors for food and drink that take CCs. Oh and thank you for the free water! I’m glad festivals would rather have hug booth dedicated to free water (unlike the 420 festival coolers that ran out quickly) rather than dead bodies. Live bodies spend more.
The only thing is they need more food trucks in every corner. The wait was horrible and it was just as bad each day around dinner time. Other than that it was a blast and it continues to be the highlight of my summer.

I only went on Friday after work but love this venue more than last year’s. The park offered shade and grass for blankets. Way better than Atlantic Station last year… although if it had rained like last year, mud would have been an issue.
I do wish they had more of a mix and match for bands. There were a couple on each day that were good but not a single «GREAT» day. Maybe next year.
I loved the Strokes, Pixies and Mastodon on Friday. Wish I could have seen Interpol. Tickets were pretty costly. I was impressed by the free water. Sometimes they charge you for everything. I heard a few food trucks ran out of food but I didn’t experience it bc the lines were huge so I just decided to skip it. Signs outside could have been better. Took forever to figure out entrances down streets and it is a big area to walk the perimeter.

Great lineup this year, actually better than most in other cities. Went last night and think they need:
More food trucks or food stands (lines were insane-​over an hour!!!)
More hand soap and water by porta potties
Other than that beer lines were fine and having some grass/​hills/​shade was nice as well.

So, This is my first ever review of anything and it’s not good… except for the music… I don’t recommend a VIP pass because of the limits on food, wine, drinks. Waiting for 30 minutes just to eat is ridiculous. Barely any seating and the lines are considerable. AND you pay top dollar with little benefit. Only one choice for food but the line literally prevents you from eating. The «VIP» area is almost nonexistent at the other stages and, therefore, only ONE place to eat OR they get to pay MORE money to a food truck (which isn’t included). I’ve been to almost every music festival that comes through town and I wouldn’t recommend this one. The organizers basically said… «I’ve got your money so too bad and good luck!» Oh, and I almost busted my — walking down the wet ramp!

Shaky Knees has to win the grand prize for providing the ugliest setting for a music festival.
An asphalt parking lot that turned happy concertgoers into a frying pan of music patron bacon.
No shade, nowhere.
Couldn’t bring in chairs, nowhere to sit.
Oh the joy of spending close to $ 100 for a day ticket to hear your band play while looking up at the beauty of a chain link parking garage fence

This is a music festival I will do again.
The music:
The music was mostly alt rock bands. Thought the bands ranged from punk rock to bluegrass most of the core was made up by bands you would hear on your local alt rock radio station.
The stages:
There were 4 stages at the festival split up between 2 distinct areas. The 2 smaller stages faced each other and were in the same area. The 2 larger stages were side-​by-​side with a VIP viewing area between them. All stages sounded great but the smaller ones would get very packed making it a bit hard to see the performers if you showed up midway through a performance.
The food:
Not that great, but not a problem for me since it was in Atlantic station which has its own restaurants. The highlight for me were the King of Pops vendors.
The drinks:
The event had a pretty decent selection of beer as well as mixed drink. Most beers cost around $ 7 (if I remember correctly). They did have a water filling station that would fill up your camelbak or bottle.
The restroom situation:
Better than I expected. They had the most Port-​A-​Potties in a single place that I’ve ever seen. There were no lines and they smelled relatively good. They got big points for this.
Atlantic station:
It works as the venue, but it’s not a great one.
Shaky Knees gets 4 stars for good music in a decent location.

I had a blast at Shaky Knees this year! Ton of great bands and convenient location. The food trucks were good but took forever on Sunday which was definitely the busiest day. Always pack a poncho!

What a difference a year makes! The size of ‘Shaky Knees’ increased tenfold for its second year — due partly to a change in location, now Atlantic Station versus the previous Masquerade Music Park, a super size line-​up, and an added day (three days instead of two).
It hasn’t quite yet reached the size of Music Midtown — the other big music festival located in Atlanta — but that’s only a matter of time. Entrance to the festival was relatively painless with no wait — surprisingly — at any time during the day.
There were only a few vendor tents including Creative Loafing, Über, Terminus, Radio 105.7, and Kind Bar. In addition, there were about 4 – 5 food trucks and cash bars located throughout the space. I was initially a bit skeptical about the choice of venue, it really is essentialy a parking lot — but the background of the Atlanta skyline was gorgeous and it really was quite spacious. There were four stages set up: Ponce de Leon and Boulevard were the two smaller side stages, with Piedmont and Peachtree being the larger ‘headliner’ stages. I think the organizers did a pretty good job ‘assigning’ the stages to the various artists based on popularity and potential audience size — at least for day one.
And the fact that it was located in Atlantic Station made it really convenient to take a break from the sun — or in Friday’s case the pouring rain, and grab food/​drink, without paying the exorbitant festival prices.
Of course, what made this festival was the amazing line up: Spoon, Cage the Elephant, Edward Sharpe, Alabama Shakes, and so many more. However, Shaky Knees seems to be more of a niche festival with the majority of the acts being in the alt-​rock genre — at least with its first two years, which is more than fine with me, I’m a fan.