Shaky Knees Music Festival 2024, day one at Central Park in Atlanta, Georgia

Opening day of the 11th annual Shaky Knees Music Festival came to life in Central Park in downtown Atlanta.

Opening day of the 11th annual Shaky Knees Music Festival came to life in Central Park in downtown Atlanta.

Music fans from around the world have once again migrated to Central Park in Atlanta for what has become a must-see festival on the summer circuit. Friday’s headliner was one of the hottest names in pop music today, Noah Kahan.

Indie-folk artist Mali Velazquez started the day with a relaxed and introspective set on the Criminal Records stage. Velasquez’s vocal delivery makes you listen more attentively than you normally would. It really makes you process the song in a way that you couldn’t do with another artist. The Nashville artist’s debut album I am green is available now from Acrophase Records.

After Velasquez, there was the straight punk band Fighter Winona. Vocalist Coco Luther was a revelation, roaming the stage with a megaphone, a guitar and sometimes just a microphone. “You Look Like a Drunk Phoebe Bridgers” got the crowd moving (and surfing) with excellent lead guitar work from Dan Funson. Despite the shorter time, they also managed to preview a song that would be heard later in the weekend, “Self Esteem” by The Offspring. Winona Fighter is touring the Midwest throughout the summer.

Odie Leigh was next on the Peachtree stage. The Baton Rouge, LA native debuted songs from her debut EP How does this sound to you? while being comfortable on the festival’s biggest stage. Leigh also played a few tracks from the upcoming homing pigeon, undoubtedly generating additional interest in the next release. One of the highlights was “No Doubt” with the anthem-like outro designed to be sung along. Leigh’s debut album, homing pigeon, comes out July 12 on Mom+Pop Music. Originally from El Paso, Texas Coming home late at night turned the volume up and down the tuning for a powerful 45-minute set. Singer/guitarist Andre Portillo was the first (but not the last) person to take the stage with a mask this weekend, but he ultimately ditched it to match his bandmates. The quartet’s songs are sad and captivating, providing a great change of pace for festival-goers. The group’s latest EP, Believe me (even if I lie), is out now. After technical difficulties with drummer Aurora Evans’ mix led to some nice back-and-forths with the crowd, including what Evans described as “panic”, Wine lips launched into a dazzling old-school rock set. Leading with the “eyes” of 2021 Dead Mushroom Sex Party Bummer set the bar high for everything that followed. The band perfectly blends the sounds of psych rock, punk rock and garage rock. Their music is fast, loud and raw… but it grooves. It’s a powerful combination. Rock veterans Metric anchored the Friday lunchtime with an energetic performance. Even though they’re past the halfway point of their second decade as a group, the Canadian quartet hasn’t lost a single step. Emily Haines continues to thrive when presented in front of an audience, commanding the crowd’s full attention. Crowd favorites included “Help I’m Alive” and “Breathing Underwater.” One of the real stars of the first day of Shaky Knees was the Australian. Psychedelic porn crumpets. Frontman Jack McEwan, wearing a camouflage suit and hair covering his face, treated the crowd to a fast-paced onslaught of psych rock noise that took no prisoners. To close it all with the surprising name “Hymn For A Droid”, those who were not fans of this group when they arrived probably left with a new catalog to listen to. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are touring North America for the remainder of May. that of Nashville All these witches slowed things down a bit, but what they lacked in speed they made up for in tone. The blues-rockers aren’t afraid to venture into jam territory from time to time, and the Shaky Knees audience was more than happy to go along with them. The band channeled the guitar rock greats of the ’70s (think Black Sabbath or early Led Zeppelin) in a searing performance of “When God Comes Back.” Guitarist Ben McLeod was a real highlight here with some incredible solo work. No group is as cool as Interpol. The presentation, costumes, ambiance and sound are all part of the complete experience. Singer/guitarist Paul Banks’ mirrored sunglasses reflected the crowd gathered in the Peachtree stage area. They played classics dating back to their beginnings, Turn on the bright lightsthrough their most recent version, The other side of pretending. The biggest reaction must have been to the staccato guitar intro to 2002’s “Obstacle 1,” one of the best songs in an incredible career catalog.

Arcade Fire knows how to put on a show for an audience. The crowd was able to fully experience the concert, the performance, the interaction and the music. Before the music even started, singer Win Butler was in the crowd with people, preparing them for the show to come. With a setlist containing more recent releases (2022 We) as well as feedback on previous work (2004 Funeral), there was something for every Arcade Fire fan, new and old. In one of the most heralded sets of the entire weekend, Arcade Fire delivered on their promises. It’s very clear why the band’s current tour is called Really funny. No one entered the weekend with a hotter streak than Friday night headliner Noah Kahan. Kahan said Shaky Knees was the biggest festival show he’s ever done and fans’ anticipation was palpable. The fans who stormed the rail when the gates opened at 11 a.m. were still there when filming began at 9:30 p.m.

The crowd’s makeup was a bit younger, but the passion they showed couldn’t be matched. It seemed like every song played was a crowd singing along, with a sea of ​​fans singing every word in unison with Kahan.

Kahan’s backing band was a star in its own right, showing the polish that time on the road behind a big album can bring. Noah Levine’s guitar work was exceptional, as was that of multi-instrumentalist Nina de Vitry (violin/guitar/banjo/vocals).

Songs of 2022 Stick season dominated the whole, with only a few callbacks to earlier work. Noah Kahan continues the Stick Season Tour throughout 2024.

SHAKY KNEES MUSIC FESTIVAL
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