Tim Sweetwood is living his dream.
As a promoter in the Atlanta area over the last decade and beyond, he has built relationships with bands from all over the globe. And from those relationships, he started Shaky Knees Music Festival in his hometown in 2013.
After two successful years, Sweetwood and company dropped what many consider the finest lineup of the year in 2015.
It features the likes of The Strokes, Avett Brothers, Wilco, Pixies, Social Distortion, Ryan Adams, Noel Gallagher’s (of Oasis fame) High Flying Birds and Tame Impala, to name a few.
But Sweetwood didn’t stop there. He has also created Shaky Boots Festival, a country get-together set to open its gates for the first time just five days after the last notes of Shaky Knees are played, just across town.
The “Boots” lineup is topped by Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Dwight Yoakum, Jason Isbell and Old Crow Medicine Show.
Sweetwood’s recipe for a good lineup starts with bands he enjoys, and after talking to him, it’s not only obvious how good his taste in music is, but also how much he loves his job. We caught up with Sweetwood and asked him about what to expect from each of his musical May soirées.
BLANK: We spoke before the first Shaky Knees and it has been fun watching the festival grow over the last few years. Can you talk about the booking process for year three and how this lineup came together? I remember you mentioning that you went after the headliners first in year one. Is that still the case?
Tim Sweetwood: It’s not dissimilar to years past. I really try to go after my personal tastes first and normally I get at least half of the ones from my wishlist and then the other parts just fall in to place. The one thing I won’t do is compromise on the genres that I don’t want on the festival. I won’t compromise on bands that I just don’t care for. I would say that it’s a little all over the board (on the formula of the process) but I definitely go after headliners first because they take longer to confirm.
BLANK: The first festival was held in the Old Fourth Ward, which held around 9,000 people. Then last year, the grounds were moved to Atlantic Station, which held up to 20,000. This year, you’ve moved again to Central Park. What the capacity the main reason for the site change this year?
TS: Yes, Central Park is kind of open ended as far as the overall capacity is, but by goal is 35,000-40000 people this year. I wanted to get it back to the park feel instead of the blacktop from last year, which worked well when it rained but it was hot when it was sunny.
BLANK: Can you tell us more about the new venue?
TS: It’s bigger but you’re still going to find that it is pretty compact. There will be two general areas. One area will have the main stage and the second stage and then the second area will have stages three, four and five. It’s kind of in between Mid Town and Downtown Atlanta and it’s actually where Music Midtown used to be several years ago.
BLANK: So five stages? Will you feature the side-by-side stages again this year?
TS: Yes, five stages, so one more stage than last year. We are not doing the side-by-side stages this year, and that’s because of the availability of the site, but the stages will be very close in nature and we’ll still have the back and forth element.
BLANK: What else is new this year?
TS: There is a little more of everything but it’s still focused on the music. For those lucky enough to snag a VIP pass (and there are still a few left), we’ll have some really cool spots for viewing the shows…VIP will be bigger and better. And we’ve actually doubled the amount of food trucks. The first couple of years we haven’t done much in terms of vending other than posters, but we’ll be having more this year without it having a corporate feel.
BLANK: Tame Impala is closing the fest down as the Headliner on Sunday night. It seems like festivals are taking more chances on elevating bands to headliner status this year, but this is something you’ve done from the start of Shaky Knees.
TS: Some are, but I’ve really tried to take that to the next level and not be scared or shy about that. Frankly, Tame Impala puts on a kick-ass show. With Tame Impala being in the darkness with the lights going crazy and the psychedelic element that they bring, they’re going to be a great headliner. The people who are super fans are really gonna love it, but people who don’t even know them are really going to enjoy the show. This year has been an interesting year because the availability of headliners has been a little bit limited and so that’s why you’re seeing this a little bit more, but we’ve still gone after My Morning Jacket every year and it just hasn’t been in the cards. Maybe it’s in the cards for the future, but you’ll notice that My Morning Jacket is not necessarily closing out festivals unless it is a festival of our size and smaller. I think that bands really get off on that, too. Last year, The National was completely psyched to be headlining and finishing off the day. I think it makes for a more enthusiastic set from the bands. The National is a great example because they are a very accessible, very friendly band. They were very thankful to be in that spot. So that’s something that I’m very cognizant of.
BLANK: Will the venue change affect the late night shows at all?
TS: It will not. The site is a walk from the Masquerade and it’s a maximum five-minute cab ride to Center Stage or Terminal West. It’s actually the most accessible of any of the years because there are two Marta stations within blocks.
BLANK: Will the Late Nights come from bands playing the festival as well as bands from outside the festival?
(UPDATED) TS: Yes, late night shows have been announced including the kick-off party with James Blake on May 7th at Terminal West. Tickets are currently on sale. More information can be found at: https://shakykneesfestival.com/latenight
BLANK: You’ve built a signature booking style over the past few years, but you’ve also added acts like Panda Bear and James Blake this year. Is this broadening something we can expect more of in the future?
TS: For sure. I think the genres we expanded on most this year are probably metal, punk and the shoegazer style. They are a little more pop, but one thing I won’t do with this festival is go electronic and hip hop, unless Aerosmith and Run DMC want to get back together. If they want to come do a joint show, I’m in to that.
BLANK: When can folks expect the schedule of events and are there any slots left to fill?
TS: The beginning of April and we are 100% full.
BLANK: Is there anything else you want to make sure folks are aware of?
TS: Yeah, it’s very important to me that people get there early. The bands that are scheduled in the beginning of the day are on the bill for a reason. One great example of that is Steve Gunn. He had my favorite album of 2014. He plays fairly early on Sunday and people should be there to see that.
BLANK: Transitioning in to Shaky Boots, what can folks expect from this first year Country festival?
TS: It’s a little north of our other festival location. We kind of lucked out when this venue came along and it makes a lot of sense. It’s at the KSU (Kennesaw State University) sports park. The main stage is beside the stadium so there are a lot of built in amenities there. There are a few practice fields there and that’s where the other stages will go and there’s a lake in the middle of all of it. It’s a cool spot.
BLANK: What brought on the idea to do two separate festivals on consecutive weekends?
TS: I always wanted to do a second festival and country seemed the most logical. There is a little bit of crossover between the two, with artists like Jason Isbell or Old Crow Medicine Show or Devil Makes Three (which are playing both festivals), but I was blown away that there wasn’t a major country festival in the state of Georgia.
BLANK: What do you hope to accomplish with the first year of Shaky Boots?
TS: We want to give the rock festival feel to the country crowd. At a lot of the country festivals that have been around for years, there are only a couple of stages and people kind of find their chair or blanket and stay there. At Shaky Knees, people are jumping from stage to stage to stage. We want to take that element to the country fans. Stages two and three are going to be playing music at the same time, so you’re going to have to choose. We’re trying to educate this year in that way, too.
BLANK: When I first heard about the second festival, I imagined both being at the same site to help with logistics. Was that ever part of the equation?
TS: The original plan was to have them at the same location and that may be the case in the future…but it didn’t take place. Moving forward, that’s definitely something that I’m going to consider and hope that it comes to fruition.
BLANK: When can folks anticipate the schedule and map for Shaky Boots?
TS: That should come out late this month or in early April. We will have apps again for both festivals as well.
BLANK: What do you hope people take away from these two festivals and where do you want to see each end up?
TS: I think they will end up not far from where they are now. I want some elements of a big festival, specifically for Shaky Boots, that’s the mainstream accessibility of the music, but still have intimacy. I don’t need Shaky Boots to be a 70,000 person-a-day festival to have success. To have Blake Shelton and Brad Paisley at a spot where there are maybe 25,000 or 30,000 people, where you can get pretty close and not be too crowded, that’s what we want for the brand to continue to grow. We want certain elements of the festival to become consistent so I can start to work on some outside of the box ideas.
For example, with Shaky Knees, we’re trying to establish something this year from a band that played last year and that is playing this year and will play every year from here on out. We’re working artistically with them to make it so that from year to year they are creating something completely different like inviting other artists or covering an album or something like that. Now that there is a consistency of the brand for Shaky Knees, I want to bring in some of those funky elements.
Shaky Knees will take place from May 8-10 while Shaky Boots will occur from May 16-17.
More information and tickets for Shaky KNEES can be found at www.ShakyKneesFestival.com
More information and tickets for Shaky BOOTS can be found at www.shakyboots.com
