Graphics Olivia Angst, Photos Evan Fitzgerald
Atlanta’s Shaky Knees saw its attendance doubled, its lineup expanded and its length extended in its second year, catering to the rootsier fans of indie rock. Its headliners included The National, Modest Mouse and Alabama Shakes, drawing crowds of over 18,000 into the simple yet well-designed outdoor area. Diverse in its lineup and its patronage, Shaky Knees saw to it that good times were had by all who enthusiastically braved the elements for their love of live music.
The setup: Shaky Knees was stationed in the adjoining vacant lot next to Atlanta’s modern outdoor mall, which made parking, transportation and leaving the festival to grab a coffee, normal-priced meal or rain poncho (thanks Publix!) super simple. The festival layout had four stages total — two each on the furthest corners stretched around the L-shaped parking garage, providing for almost zero sound interference and ease of seeing simultaneous sets. The walk-ability of the festival once again was one of the best qualities.
Weather: Friday was rainy, rainy, rainy, but those who attended last year (or checked the weather report) were fully-prepared in boots, jackets or just full-on swimsuits. Although there was lots of water, there was zero mud because cement. Saturday struck that perfect weather mark with cloudy skies and cool breezes, only raining once for about an hour. Sunday was frying-pan hot due to the surprise return of the sun and was a welcome change until late afternoon when it became unwelcome because cement.
Food: Food trucks were set up at two different locations and included tapas, pizza, burgers, paninis, loaded fries, gourmet popsicles (shout-out to the dancing King of Pops dude!) and, my personal favorite, loaded macaroni and cheese. The drink selections were fair, although overpriced as per festival norm, but leaving the festival to have meals elsewhere was easy if you didn’t mind missing part of a performance.
Location: Atlanta’s modern outdoor “live/play/work” Atlantic Station, which is located downtown. Transportation was really simple with a centralized location, although grass seating was missed.
Best All-Around: San Fermin. Having listened to their cinematic debut repeatedly since its release, I was really excited to see what it sounded like live. All of my expectations were exceeded and the band managed to draw a massive crowd and rile them up, even with their early time slot on the festival’s last day. Dynamic and ridiculously talented, San Fermin blew my mind. If you get the opportunity – see them live.
Best Headliner: Modest Mouse. Catering to both their cult fans and casual radio fans, they played all the hits, and left the new stuff for the upcoming record.
Best Energy: Man Man. Their set was happening right as the ominous storm clouds rolled in on Friday. There were, of course, multiple costume changes and abundant eccentricities, aka so much damn fun.
Best Newcomer: Benjamin Booker. He was given the opening slot on Sunday, so there weren’t a lot of people around, but whoever was there knows that he will not be given this time slot for very much longer. Booker is a rock and roll time bomb set to detonate at the release of his debut in August.
Chillest Set: Gregory Alan Isakov. This Colorado-based folk singer stood alone on the stage and slowed time for an hour making us all want to grab a copy of his new record and go home to listen to it alone.
Sexiest: Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires. Appropriately dubbed “The Screaming Eagle of Soul,” Bradley boogied his way into everyone’s heart and left us grinning long after his set was over.
Funniest: PHOX. Their humor is the goofball type that curses ex-boyfriends (“Fuck that guy!”) and mentions nicknames based on Pokemon.
Best Dressed: Deer Tick. Frontman John McCauley wore a really pretty skirt with a blaring red t-shirt that read “LSD.” Besides being the best dressed, their set was killer.
Most Underrated: The Apache Relay. Slated at an earlier time, many may have missed out on their well-written folk rock tunes that deserved a second listen upon arriving home.
Most Charismatic: Jenny Lewis. Although a storm nearly blitzed her set/equipment, Jenny laughed about her soaked hair while playing all our favorite songs. The lighting, time of day and good vibes all melted together to form one of my favorite sets of the festival.
Biggest Surprise: Conor Oberst’s 7 p.m. set provided a minor surprise for those who weren’t aware that Dawes would be his backing band. Then at 8, Billie Joe Armstrong came out with The Replacements for an even bigger surprise. Saturday was cool.
Best Set for Dancing: Portugal. The Man. I sat in the way back during their set eating my bbq macaroni and cheese, so I had a great view of the stage and crowd. There wasn’t one person who wasn’t dancing or that didn’t leave the set saying, “That was awesome.” Possibly the coolest band around.
Best Worst Set: The Replacements. Apparently known for going on stage trashed and fully okay with screwing up in the middle of a song in their younger years, The Replacements haven’t changed much. Their set was loud, raucous and very cool to witness.
Best Change-Up: Iron & Wine. I have to admit that as a massive Sam Beam fan, I sometimes get irritated at his constant need to remix all his songs. Then I realize that the alternate versions he’s playing are really damn good, too. Beam kept this trend at his Sunday performance that we all melted for — like, literally also.