Shaky Knees Announces 2025 Lineup
Atlanta’s indie rock festival Shaky Knees has been a local staple for over a decade. It has moved around locations over the years, going from the former Masquerade Music Park to Atlantic Station to Central Park to its new home Piedmont Park in 2025. Additionally, the date of the festival is changing from its traditional first weekend of May to mid-September, filling the void that Music Midtown left after 2023. The location and date change is marking a new era for Shaky Knees, and to commemorate this new era the festival has dropped one of the most balanced lineups I have seen for this festival. Check out our previous reviews of the festival!
The 2025 lineup has some big names that people have been pining for in recent years, the biggest one being My Chemical Romance. This booking is the band’s redemption for the canceled 2022 Music Midtown where they were set to headline. Ultimately, My Chemical Romance was able to pivot to a local amphitheater the same weekend as the canceled festival, but many emo and pop punk fans kept the hope alive that one day the band would play in Piedmont Park. That dream is becoming a reality this September. And not only are we getting the My Chemical Romance redemption booking but also Blink-182 to close out the festival and send everyone smiling into the work week afterwards.
The undercard has some great grabs, including some artists that I would never have guessed would play Shaky Knees. These include Weird Al Yankovic, who is listed as a special guest on the lineup for Sunday, and Devo, who I’ve always wanted to see live. Both of these fit that legacy act void that I think festivals are lacking nowadays, however, they fit the indie twist that Shaky Knees has been famous for in their booking. And I can’t leave out Alabama Shakes. This band has been on hiatus for close to a decade and has resurfaced this year, popping up on festival lineups. They played the year of the legendary Music Mudtown of 2016 and will be warmly welcomed back to Piedmont Park for yet another magical show.
Also in the undercard are a pair of bands that hold a special place in my heart, Cage the Elephant and the Black Keys. I saw both of these bands at my very first music festival, Music Midtown 2011, and I am ecstatic that I will get to see them play again in Piedmont Park at yet another festival 14 years later. Both of these bands could arguably be headliners as they have been headliners for other festivals and events, so on Saturday we are getting three solid headliner-level bands. That’s the most condensed talent in one night that I’ve seen in a Shaky Knees lineup in a long time. For me, it beats out the infamous 2021 Spooky Knees that had Alice Cooper and Run The Jewels in the same night.
The presale for Shaky Knees is Thursday, February 27th starting at 10 AM. Tickets will be sold in a general sale the following day if tickets remain. Now, a lot of events will say this to push the hype, but Shaky Knees has a strong chance of selling out in presale. This festival has been notorious in the last few years in selling out extremely early. If you want to get in on the presale, this is a link to get the presale code. If you are planning to travel to Atlanta for this festival and need to book lodging, I recommend getting it sooner than later. The area around Piedmont Park has a few hotels and some nice Airbnb options but they always fill up fast for events in Piedmont Park. The Atlanta Beltline ajoins the park near Park Tavern and gives some access to additional lodging options if you don’t mind the walk.
I hope to see yall at Shaky Knees this year! I’m sure looking forward to being back at where festivals started for me.