This year is the 10th anniversary of the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia and it’s off to a great start!
There were some configuration changes in Central City Park this year, including a new festival entrance, a new home for the massive merch tent, and a new, larger Ponce De Leon Stage – and the changes seem to have helped festival goers move more smoothly through the venue, as thousands began showing up early Friday afternoon.
Even a few sprinkles, (lasting into the evening), couldn’t dampen the mood of the crowd. On the plus side, the rain brought unseasonably cool weather – a welcome change from the sometimes-sweltering May in Atlanta.
This is shaping up to be another year of the more “minor” acts stealing the show – beginning with Surf Curse, who played the Piedmont Stage. Led by founders Nick Rattigan (vocals and drums) and Jacob Rubeck (as well as newcomers Noah Kroll and Henry Dillon), their upbeat alt-pop sound is hard to categorize, but they lit up the audience with favorites, including “Freaks” and “Disco”. Although they’ve been around for ten years, they are finding new success as new fans discover them through Tik Tok, among other platforms.
Next was Peaches, who electrified festival-goers at the Criminal Records Stage, the smallest in the venue. It’s difficult to describe her show – but her exuberance and over-the-top sexuality is a sight to behold. She entered the stage donning a long, blonde bouffant wig, with a matching wig fastened between her legs. And if that wasn’t enough, she appeared to be sporting five bare breasts on her chest (which I can only assume were a costume ;)). She was flanked by two backup dancers dressed as vaginas – yes, I said it – vaginas. Her stage antics were matched by her immense energy and talent, with a mix of equal parts soul, hip-hop and punk.
As one could imagine, Peaches lyrics are as norm-bending as her choice of costumes – as she plays with social norms, including gender, politics and sexuality. She sang, danced and crowd-surfed her way into the hearts of the audience, with an extraordinary performance.
Another highly anticipated act was Digable Planets, A mainstay of early ‘90s hip-hop, they combined hip-hop, jazz and pop into something innovative, as well as highly entertaining. They are celebrating their 30th anniversary by reproducing their most successful album, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) on the Ponce De Leon Stage – and their fans couldn’t get enough. Craig “Doodlebug” Irving, Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Viera and Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler still looked and sounded great, as they took fans on a journey through their hits, including; “Where I’m From”, “Time and Space” and their quintessential, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”.
Next up was a fan favorite, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Karen O brought it to the Piedmont Stage. Her presence and showwomanship can’t be overstated. Her black pageboy haircut and fringed, red jumpsuit cut a striking figure – and her ability to excite a crowd is unmatched. Bandmates, Nick Zinner, Brian Chase and David Pajo backed her up with force and musicality, as they ran through hits like “Maps”, “Zero”, “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”, and the electrifying “Heads Will Roll”. After their amazing performance, it was difficult to imagine that they were not the headliners of the night.
Finally, The Killers took to the Peachtree Stage for the main event. They gave a perfectly entertaining performance, but did not seem to set the crowd alight like some of the earlier acts. Along with some of their hits, (“Mr. Brightside”, “Read My Mind”, “Smile Like You Mean It”, and “Human”), they played several songs from newer albums, that didn’t quite seem to connect with the audience. Though it couldn’t be characterized as unsuccessful, their performance didn’t seem to have the gravitas of some of the other acts.
As the night wound down, it was clear that Shaky Knees, 2023 has much to offer and anticipation is building for Saturday.
-words: Christy Amador
-photos: Hector Amador (Chris Phelps for The Killers)
