Although Saturday morning had a few showers, that didn’t stop concertgoers from making their way to day two of Shaky Knees music festival at Central Park as morning turned to afternoon.
As was the case on Friday, the forecast noted the potential for thunderstorms. But on the first day of the festival, the rains never really materialized and things went smoothly as the night culminated in performances by Arcade Fire and Noah Kahan.
That luck seemed to hold out again for the second day of the festival. It did begin to drizzle during Australian singer-songwriter Grace Cummings’ 2 p.m. set on the Peachtree stage, but the sun soon came blazing through.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Anna Berendin traveled all the way from Brazil to attend this year’s festival. She previously saw the rock band Palace perform in Washington, D.C., which inspired her to see the group at Shaky Knees. The band is among Saturday’s late night performers. Shaky Knees is Berendin’s first music festival.
Credit: DeAsia Sutgrey
Credit: DeAsia Sutgrey
“It’s incredible,” Berendin said. “It’s super to be here. There’s so much space and so many options for food. The bathrooms are pretty nice. I’d definitely come back.”
For Amber Reum and Kaitlin Blalack, going to Shaky Knees is a family tradition. Each of them has attended the festival at least five times. They’re most looking forward to seeing Weezer.
The sisters weren’t nervous about possible rainy weather disrupting the show.
Credit: DeAsia Sutgrey
Credit: DeAsia Sutgrey
“It’s rained nearly every year for a while, so we kind of expect at this point,” Blalack said.
“I may lose an eyelash because of it, but it’s fine,” Reum said.
As they do every day of the festival, performances began on the Peachtree stage with Songs for Kids, an organization that provides music mentorship and interactive programs for kids and young adults with illnesses, injuries, and disabilities.
The Foo Fighters will close out the festival on Sunday night. Check out our preview of the festival for more highlights.
Here are some highlights from Saturday’s lineup of performers:
THE INSPECTOR CLUZO
Over on the Piedmont stage, bluesy rock duo the Inspector Cluzo helped rev up an early crowd Saturday at Shaky Knees with a stripped-down, tour de force set. As suggested by the band’s name, Mathieu Jourdain and Laurent Lacrouts are from France — the southwestern part, to be precise (definitely not Paris, as they emphasized). Singing in English and wailing away on his Gibson SG guitar, Lacrouts displayed an impressive falsetto that often moved from sing to scream mid-song.
The two are also organic farmers in Gascony, a fact that featured in several songs they played. The primal rock of “A Man Out Standing In His Field” stood out on an overcast, humid early afternoon, as did the bluesy, slow burner “The Outsider.” Jourdain’s drumming was particularly hypnotic and intense in the second half of the latter. Lacrouts talked about climate change at several points, noting that, as farmers, they’re on the front lines of that reality. They made it a theme of their second song, which featured the line “running a family farm is more rock than playing rock ‘n’ roll music.”
The title track of most recent album “Horizon” had the crowd — which swelled as festivalgoers were still arriving throughout — especially boisterous. To engage them in a singalong, Lacrouts encouraged attendees to sing “for my family” loudly, as he put it, “Georgia style instead of Paris style.” Not happy with the first attempt, he liked the second better as fans roared along.
In the extra-fast “The Armchair Activist,” the duo decried those who talk but aren’t willing to get their hands dirty for the environment. And in a perfectly rock ‘n’ roll ending, in their seventh song Lacrouts’ amplifier broke suddenly. Jourdain carried on for a minute or two, before Lacrouts realized he couldn’t carry on. With that, the Inspector Cluzo ended their set the way they started, in a blaze. Hopefully they’ll be able to return to the area soon and play for longer.
- Matthew W. Smith
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
GRACE CUMMINGS
When Grace Cummings took the Peachtree Stage at Shaky Knees at 2 p.m., it was hard to tell if she was happy to be there. Interiority shaped her demeanor, as if she had a lot on her mind. She made minimal eye contact with the crowd. She casually walked to her keyboard without saying a word. But all of that didn’t seem to matter as soon as she belted a note.
The Australian singer’s emotion lies in the arresting bravado of her rasp.
As she eased into the duration of her 45-minute set, she became more engaged with the crowd — the depths of her dramatic expression shown on her face while singing songs that harp on emotional intimacy. After all, Cummings is also an actor. Drama is her forte. That personality took center stage as she performed “Everybody’s Somebody,” a track from her latest offering “Ramona.” The album dropped last month.
“This song doesn’t always work in America, but I’m going to do it anyway,” Cummings said in introducing the song. “It’s about an absolute [expletive] back at home.”
Throughout the song, she played the guitar and delivered a piercing vocal performance that made her aching croons about a resentful ex sound so spicy that the drizzling rain that arrived during the performance felt natural.
She ended her set with “Heaven,” a track from her sophomore album “Storm Queen.” This time, she ditched her guitar and keyboard for another instrument: her body. With each run, she became one with the lyrics — swaying her arms and hips to the guitar riffs as if she was auditioning for a major role. If Cummings the singer is this dramatic, one can only wonder how powerful Cummings the actor is.
- DeAsia Paige
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
BLONDSHELL
Los Angeles-based Blondshell took to the Piedmont stage as the skies stayed gray but the rain held off. The Partisan Records artist also known as Sabrina Teitelbaum released her self-titled album to acclaim just over a year ago, with the bulk of her set featuring tracks from it.
Blondshell and her tight three-piece band kicked things off with the hooky “Veronica Mars,” with some of the crowd running toward the stage as soon things started. She twirled around the stage during a solo by her guitarist and sported a Maggie Simpson T-shirt, as good a symbol as any of the influence of ‘90s music on her own. Teitelbaum’s voice was in fine form throughout, and it is her dynamic vocals that drive and steer the emotionally honest, soul-baring songs at the heart of her work.
Take the fuzzy “Sepsis.” On it, her singing ranged from a low growl to a soaring, choir-perfect high octave. Other early highlights were “Sober Together” and album highlight “Joiner,” a song about friendship and coming of age. Teitelbaum expressed her delight at being at Shaky Knees and back in Atlanta, noting the huge trees around her. “It’s so beautiful, it’s so green!” she exclaimed. “I’m excited to be here.”
The singer didn’t let a minor technical issue cause a glitch in the proceedings, as she thanked the crew member who switched out her failing microphone cord and took the time to say, “I love coming to Atlanta. We don’t have trees like this in California.” Teitelbaum crouched down for the second half of “Olympus,” as ‘90s-inspired guitar tones intertwined with her words. The band played “Kiss City” before wrapping things up perfectly with the dramatic buildup of “Salad,” as Teitelbaum prowled the stage.
Speaking to the AJC in the media lounge after her set ended, Blondshell was enthusiastic about the experience. “It was a really fun set. I wasn’t sure that people were gonna go because it was kind of empty beforehand, and then it filled in, so it was a nice surprise!”
Teitelbaum also confirmed that in parallel with playing a new song in her set, she’s been busy writing. “I’ve been recording also, so I’m just in the process of making my second album. I’ve been playing some of the songs live because I feel like when you play new songs live it can give you clues about what the production should be like,” adding that it’s also a plus to be able to mix up the set list.
Blondshell will be on the road for the next few months, and is looking forward to playing two of the biggest festivals in the world, Roskilde (Denmark) and Glastonbury (England). “I really like playing in the U.K.,” Teitelbaum noted. “I feel like there’s always really good energy when we play there. So I’m really looking forward to Glastonbury. I’ve heard about them (both festivals) for a long time, and the lineups are cool.” In the meantime, she was looking forward to seeing both Queens of the Stone Age and Weezer at Shaky Knees, and hopefully a return to Atlanta after the release of her second album.
- Matthew W. Smith
HOLLY HUMBERSTONE
Holly Humberstone of Grantham, England, displayed an impressive and smooth stylistic range in her midafternoon set on the Peachtree Stage. Touring in support of debut album “Paint My Bedroom Black,” the singer has previously toured with fellow Shaky Knees performer Girl in Red. A nice touch was the logo on the bass drum head, featuring a stylized bat with the initials “HH.”
Her three-piece band (guitar, drums, bass/keys) kicked things off before she sauntered onto the stage, acoustic guitar in hand. Opening with the first two songs on her album (including the title track), Humberstone’s breathy soprano was effective throughout a set that included some pure pop, a power ballad (complete with guitar shredding) and fast rockers. “What’s up, Atlanta — how are we doing?” she asked before adding, “I love this city.”
The singer started to introduce the wrong song at one point, chalking it up to an understandable case of jet lag. Still, she pushed through and expressed both surprise and delight at the high turnout for her. Early highlights included power ballad “Kissing in Swimming Pools” and new track “Dive” from last month’s “Work In Progress” EP. The latter featured Humberstone on electric guitar and boasted both a catchy hook and a huge chorus while showing off the power of her drummer.
Early single “Falling Asleep at the Wheel” bounced along with tinges of synthesizer, while the up-tempo, piano-driven “Lauren” featured a wailing solo from her lead guitarist. Adding that she still feels “very lucky to tour outside of the U.K.,” the artist played fast rocker “Ghost Me” and was joined on tight, effective harmonies by all three of her bandmates.
Telling the crowd to “have an amazing day” and marveling at the rest of the Shaky Knees Saturday lineup, Humberstone left the stage to huge cheers from the sizable crowd.
- Matthew W. Smith
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
CHICANO BATMAN
Minutes before Chicano Batman appeared on the Piedmont Stage, fans could hear the classic beat to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “The Next Episode,” signaling the West Coast band’s presence. By time of their performance, Saturday’s cloudy skies had transformed into the sunny weather of the band’s hometown.
The Los Angeles outfit, formed in 2008, includes Eduardo Arenas (bass, guitar, vocals), Carlos Arévalo (guitars, keyboards), and Bardo Martinez (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar). Across an hourlong set, the trio made their Latin-infused genre-bending soundscape come to life. The band opened with “Beautiful Daughter,” a groovy soul track from their new album “Notebook Fantasy.” Martinez’s voice sounded so delicate yet so sultry that he became fully engrossed in the lyrics.
At times, the band broke into captivating instrumental solos. At other times, Martinez walked across the stage as a rock star, quickly shifting into a full sex symbol with a sound that knows no genre. To cap the performance, Martinez entered into the crowd, shirt still off and hands and legs stretched wide, to embrace their vibrant energy.
- DeAsia Paige
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
ROYAL BLOOD
Another hard rock duo delivered a blistering set as English pair (plus one touring member) Royal Blood took to the Peachtree stage in the early evening. The sun finally made its presence known and the heat was in full effect. Jaunty, film score walk-on music was suddenly pierced angrily by stabs from the distorted-to-sound-like-a-guitar bass guitar of Mike Kerr as they launched into “Out of the Black,” the first song on their first album, released 10 years ago. Behind the band, a six-eyed orange tiger head kept its steely gaze on the full crowd gathered. After the first song, drummer Ben Thatcher ran into the crowd and threw his sticks to a lucky few. “Shaky Knees, how ya doing baby?” asked Kerr, generally keeping banter to a minimum. “We’re Royal Blood from the United Kingdom. This is such a beautiful day.” All four of the group’s studio albums have reached #1 in the U.K. for the Brighton-formed duo.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Thatcher kept up an all-out assault on his drums, especially during a solo that followed “Little Monster,” and what Royal Blood lacked in variety they more than made up for in sheer power and force. Don’t expect ballads or costume changes — just rock ‘n’ roll at a high volume. Last year’s fourth album “Back to the Water Below” featured prominently throughout the hour, including newest single “Mountains at Midnight.” Another standout was fellow new release “Supermodel Avalanches.” The group’s touring keyboard player and backing vocalist Darren James added a little bit of depth to the otherwise Spartan sound.
The band ended its set with two outstanding tracks from its debut album, “Loose Change” and “Figure It Out,” as the crowd pogoed along and Thatcher threw even more sticks into the crowd. Kerr thanked the crowd profusely with his bass high in the air as the crowd roared its approval. Appropriately enough, Royal Blood is in the middle of a tour with fellow Shaky Knees performers Queens of the Stone Age (having also toured with them previously), who are set to take the stage at 8:15. QOTSA frontman Josh Homme also produced Royal Blood’s 2021 track “Boilermaker,” featured during the latter’s set.
- Matthew W. Smith
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
GIRL IN RED
Girl in Red delivered one of the most thrilling performances of the night. At the Peachtree Stage, the artist (born Marie Ulven Ringheim) offered fans a hyper-buoyant one-hour set that was dedicated to “the girls and the gays.”
In fact, even before Girl in Red graced the crowd Saturday evening, cameras panned to a group of fans holding a sign that read “Got Gay?” Yes, the Norwegian singer is queer and has even become an empowering TikTok meme for it, inspiring Gen-Z fans to build community around their identity.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
”I realize there are some other gays here, too, so it’s cool we could a have a gay meetup,” she said at the beginning of her set.
The 25-year-old performed roughly 15 songs teeming with audience engagement. For “Dead Girl in the Pool,” fans played with beach balls as if they were at a pool party. With each song, Girl in Red bounced around the stage, talked to the crowd and belted notes so dynamic and ethereal that it reminded fans of just how talented she is. Her exuberance even shines in slower songs. With “Midnight Love,” Girl in Red makes a ballad about unrequited love sound groovy. At the end of her set, she performed her hit song “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend” while crowd-surfing for nearly five minutes. Girl in Red made her Shaky Knees performance one that fans likely won’t forget.
- DeAsia Paige
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
An absolutely packed crowed waited patiently in front of the Piedmont Stage for the Atlanta return of Queens of the Stone Age. The co-headliners had the penultimate set (at 8:15) on another Shaky Knees Saturday, making their festival appearance as part of a lengthy tour in support of eighth album “In Times New Roman …” Singer/guitarist Josh Homme and his bandmates took to the stage with some easy listening intro music to rival tour mates Royal Blood’s selection.
QOTSA kicked things off with the exquisitely titled “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire” and then launched immediately into fan favorite “No One Knows” as the stage lights blazed red and multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita added an extra layer of guitar crunch on the song’s chorus. Both songs were released on 2002′s “Songs for the Deaf,” the era in which Dave Grohl played drums for the group. “Hello Atlanta, how are ya?” asked Homme, adding that everyone in attendance should “drink, dance and be merry.”
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
2013′s “Smooth Sailing” was a vocal highlight, featuring Homme’s impressive falsetto and guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen’s backing vocals. “I Sat by the Ocean” saw Fertita switching back and forth between keyboards and guitar. Versatility was certainly a theme throughout. In addition to Fertita’s instrument swaps, Van Leeuwen played six- and twelve-string guitars plus slide guitar and lap steel. In parallel, the absolutely relentless rhythm section of bassist Michael Shuman and drummer Jon Theodore kept a solid foundation.
Red stage lights stood out as dusk turned into night and the band moved into the second half of the set. One standout song was 2007′s “Make It wit Chu,” boasting a drum intro and a lengthy guitar solo from Homme. The crowd’s energy went up another notch during “Little Sister” and “Go With the Flow,” the latter another “Songs for the Deaf” classic. Telling the crowd to “have a wonderful night,” Homme then launched into extended closer “Song for the Dead.” A drum solo and stop/start patterns both contributed to an ideal finish for Queens of the Stone Age. The crowd reluctantly let them go.
- Matthew W. Smith
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
WEEZER
At the end of what was projected to be a stormy day two of Shaky Knees, Weezer performed to a sea fans beneath the clear night sky. The legendary rock band was a headliner Saturday night. And they brought out all the hits to justify that spot.
”We were bummed Paramore couldn’t make it, but thanks for inviting us instead,” lead singer Rivers Cuomo joked at the start of their performance.
In fact, it’s possible that Cuomo (dressed in a gray cardigan over a white-and-black striped shirt), could’ve only played the backing tracks of their set and let the crowd do his job for him. The audience was that engaged. “Beverly Hills” riled them up early in the band’s hour-and-a-half show. “Perfect Situation” became an instant singalong. “Undone (the Sweater Song)” teleported fans back to the early 90′s. And by the time Weezer got to the “Say Ain’t So” portion of the show — nearly an hour after their set time — fans still stayed and echoed the chorus even louder.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
As the show went on, sightings of lightning behind the stage suggested that storms were on the horizon. Luckily, no showers formed.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the group’s self-titled debut album aka the “Blue Album.” Weezer’s Shaky Knees performance Saturday night offered a reminder that the band will still be relevant for another 30 years and long after that.
Weezer ended the night with an encore performance of “Buddy Holly.”
- DeAsia Paige
The AJC will be at Shaky Knees all weekend, bringing you performance highlights, news and voices from inside the festival. Come back for photos, reviews and more all weekend long.
Shaky Knees Festival
The fest continues May 5. Central Park, entrance at 395 Piedmont Ave. One-day ticket options start at $165. (Three-day tickets are sold out.) Gates open at 11:30 a.m. with music starting at 11:45 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m. For tickets, full schedule and other information: shakykneesfestival.com.
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