My Chemical Romance, Blink-182 and Deftones will headline the 2025 Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta in a clear bid for a big Millennial audience.
The 12th version of the festival will take place Sept. 19-21 in Piedmont Park, a move from its typical spring dates at the smaller Central Park. If the location and time seem familiar, this was the month and location of Music Midtown, a once revered Atlanta festival that has struggled in recent years to fill the park.
The lineup, which features about 60 acts, reaches back to the 1980s with Devo, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Pixies and satirical legend “Weird Al” Yankovic along with a bevy of 1990s acts like Sublime, Lenny Kravitz and 4 Non Blondes, a band that hasn’t toured in more than a decade and had one huge hit, “What’s Up,” in 1993.
Many of the acts previously performed at Music Midtown including Cage the Elephant in 2010, Alabama Shakes in 2016 and Vampire Weekend in 2019.
Among the acts with Georgia ties are indie-pop band the Marías (whose lead singer María Zardoya was raised in Atlanta), Atlanta psychedelic rock quartet Improvement Movement and Athens duo Hey, Nothing.
Deftones will headline Friday, My Chemical Romance will headline Saturday and Blink-182 will hit the stage for the final night. Those acts broke out between 1995 and 2006. The full Shaky Knees lineup is available at shakykneesfestival.com.
The festival is expected to draw at least 50,000 concertgoers based on past attendance announcements. Last year, the Foo Fighters, Weezer and Noah Kahan headlined the event.
“They always do a great job with the lineup,” said Steve Craig, program director for 99X, which plays several of the acts on the bill including Sublime, Franz Ferdinand and the Black Keys. “There is really something for everyone. And the Deftones are a great get.”
Credit: AP PHOTOS
Credit: AP PHOTOS
Pre-sale tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. Fans can sign up via shakykneesfestival.com. There are multiple tiers: one-day and three-day, general admission, general admission plus, VIP and platinum tickets. Prices range from $160 to a whopping $7,715, depending on the tier.
VIP tickets include access to a lounge with a private bar, dedicated restrooms and priority seating. Platinum tickets include onstage viewing, Park Tavern lounge access and food. The highest ticket tier will offer onstage viewing opportunities, golf cart transportation, entry into the artist village and one ticket to a festival late night show. Layaway plans are available starting at $25.
Shaky Knees, formed by Tim Sweetwood of event management company C3 Presents in 2013, was first held at Historic Fourth Ward Park. The Lumineers, Jim James and Band of Horses headlined the two-day event. The festival has since expanded to three days. While the lineups primarily feature rock and indie acts, other genres have been sprinkled in (including rap group Public Enemy this year).
In November, Shaky Knees announced its plans to move from the spring at Central Park to the fall at Piedmont Park. Although representatives for the festival didn’t respond to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s request for information on the changes, the news came as other Georgia music festivals, including Music Midtown, canceled their 2024 dates.
Peter Conlon, who runs Live Nation Atlanta, did not respond to a text seeking comment about the future of Music Midtown, which debuted in 1994 and moved to multiple locations over the years including Shaky Knees’ former home Central Park. Its music mix tended to be broader than Shaky Knees with more pop notes. Its last festival was in September 2023 with headliners Billie Eilish, Guns N’ Roses and Pink.
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