By John Flannagan, Bill Foster, Matt Rankin and Rusty Odom
If Piedmont Park is the new permanent home of Shaky Knees, you’ll get no complaints from the BLANK crew.
Putting together a music festival in the heart of a city provides many challenges, and Shaky Knees has had five homes since its inception in 2013.
In the most recent previous stops at Centennial and Central parks, the festivals felt functional, but they seemed to be placed where they were because, well, they had to go somewhere.
That’s not the case with the expansive sanctuary that is Piedmont Park. Atlanta is one of the greenest big cities in the Southeast, if not the country, and the lush, beautiful landscapes of the dirty south are on full display at the park and its surrounding neighborhoods.
It’s not that the earlier spots were bad, it’s just that Piedmont Park makes you look back in comparison and notice some things that are now much easier and much more enjoyable.
Sponsor activations are scattered perfectly throughout the footprint, and essentials like food, bathrooms and bars are everywhere you look.
The venue feels more insular and complete, and, as a result, the spacious grounds truly shine as the festival’s fourth headliner.
Every stage at Shaky Knees has its own identity in 2025, and nothing feels cramped or misplaced. From the Criminal Records stage, which today will host Die Spitz, CMAT and Bulmuri amongst many others, to Peachtree, which will present a strong run of Johnny Marr to TV on the Radio to Cage the Elephant to My Chemical Romance, each space offers a different vibe and plenty of room for activities. We’re about to get back out there, but before we do, here are a few of our favorites from opening day at Shaky Knees 2025. – Rusty Odom
Lambrini Girls
For once, all four members of the BLANK crew were onsite in the same place for the first show of the day at a festival. That’s never happened before (and may never happen again), but that is how excited we were for Shaky Knees openers Lambrini Girls. The politically charged duo (augmented with a live drummer) started with a bang and never let up, as frontwoman Phoebe Lunny charged onto the stage, ran in circles and screamed, “Who wants to f***?!”
What followed was an hour of pummeling riffs, clever lyrics and elite showmanship. Lunny climbed down into the audience twice during the first song – she found a driver’s license on the ground and returned it to its owner on one of the excursions – and crowdsurfed near the end of the set. The group led a “Free Palestine” chant before “God’s Country” and an “ACAB” chant later, along with a frank and honest speech by Lunny about how touring America scares her. There was a mosh pit and crowdsurfers for most of the show. It really captured everything cool, rebellious and fun about Shaky Knees. I didn’t know that the heirs to Rage Against the Machine would turn out to be a pair of young girls from Brighton, but here we are. – Bill Foster
Sublime
Sublime has reformed with two members – Bud Gough and Eric Wilson – of the original trio alongside Jakob Nowell, the son of the band’s founder Bradley Nowell, who died in 1996. Sublime today is very much a good-time, party, tribute band and, taken in that spirit, made for an enjoyable afternoon spot. They played all the hits: “What I Got,” “April 29,” “40oz. to Freedom” and, of course, set closer “Santeria.” But along the way, they surprised with covers of Bad Brains, The Toyes and Secret Hate. The younger Nowell sounds amazingly like his late father and has a nice stage presence, but it also felt a bit forced. All in all, it made for a pleasant afternoon – but not something I’d go out of my way to see. – BF
IDLES
IDLES is a BLANK favorite. When they were last at Shaky Knees in 2023, we all had other responsibilities and conflicts, but from the first note of that set on Ponce de Leon, no one left. Now on the secondary Piedmont stage, they proved to be just as spellbinding. A five-piece from Bristol in the U.K., the group has released five albums, and they played bits of all of them here. IDLES toured for eight years before releasing their first album, and it shows.
Tight, no-nonsense post-punk, with scathing lyrics and a punishing rhythm section, they may be the best live band around at this point. Like Lambrini Girls, IDLES centers politics and radical inclusivity in their lyrics and their overall image. This set featured more “Free Palestine” chants but was heavier on the music without much talking. It opened with “War” and closed with “Rottweiler.” Highlights in between included “I’m Scum,” “Divide and Conquer” and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm.” – BF
Lenny Kravitz
Although the enduring performer’s subheadlining slot at Peachtree wasn’t exactly what we collectively as a crew were anticipating most about Friday, let alone the weekend, this set that featured pyrotechnics, a dazzling light show, energetic stage presence, a magnificent band and an endless parade of hits all conspired in a surprise early highlight of Shaky Knees 2025. The 61-year-old (though you definitely wouldn’t know it by looking at him) Kravitz at this point is a legacy act, and his lofty billing had us questioning festival organizers’ judgment for eschewing younger talent for him at this time slot, but we fortunately were proven to be wrong.
From the bouncy fun “Dig In” to the otherworldly funk of “I Belong to You” to the woozy balladry of “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over,” Kravitz and company enthralled throughout a tight hour that started promptly at 7:30 p.m. Befitting of seasoned music veterans, the group was perfectly in sync and supremely professional yet loose enough to never come across as sterile or like it was dialing it in. As might be expected, “American Woman,” “Fly Away” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way” closed the show, the three career-defining songs landing hard and eliciting a tremendous crowd response. It would have been tough for anyone to follow the previous block – the blustery whirlwind of IDLES versus Spoon’s masterful indie-rock – but these cool cats were up to the task and more than delivered. – Matt Rankin
Pixies
Sat sprawled out in the lush grass of Piedmont Park high on a hill overlooking the cut containing Ponce and a pristine view of the gleaming Midtown skyline, all the responsibilities and harsh realities of the outside world dissolved into the pleasant autumnal air for the entirety of the Boston band’s hour onstage. Whether it was the bucket-list setlist heavy on essential ‘80s and ‘90s classics (“Here Comes Your Man,” “Caribou,” “Vamos,” “Hey”) or all the young people sporting recycled fashion trends from the latter era (JNCO, Airwalk, racoon-tail accessories) is unclear, but I was almost lulled into believing I had reentered a simpler time.
As a dog owner from Knoxville, even a newer track like “Mercy Me” resonated in a wistful, meaningful manner, but the run of “Gouge Away” > “Monkey Gone to Heaven” > “Debaser” > “Wave of Mutilation” – presented faithfully and finding Black Francis in good voice – was a joyful celebration of foundational alt-rock that anesthetized aching joints and muscles and put both a figurative and literal pep back in the step of this grizzled festival vet. When the last distinctive tones of Joey Santiago’s lead guitarwork during “Where Is My Mind?” rang out, I bounded off for Deftones with renewed zeal, my soul nourished and my resolve steeled for what may lay ahead. – MR
Deftones
It had been 26 years since I last saw Deftones live, and wow, they were worth the wait. Deftones closed down the first day of Shaky Knees, performing in front of a packed Peachtree stage Friday night. The Northern California metalheads played a perfect mix from a catalog that dates back to 1995. Based on crowd demographics, it was clear to see the group has been able to transcend generations, as old heads and youngsters alike jammed together throughout a blistering hour-and-a-half set. Deftones threw it back to their beginnings by playing their early hits, leading off with a punishing rendition of “Be Quiet and Drive” and following that up with “My Own Summer (Shove It).” From there, the band hit us with a new track, “My Mind Is a Mountain,” off their latest album “private music,” which was released last month. Lead singer Chino Moreno’s voice has held up through the years, as he sounded as great Friday as he did the last time I saw the band in 1999. Deftones’ style and catalog have withstood the test of time, and the band proved that it is a no-brainer headliner. – John Flannagan
