Insights on the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia

The Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia

Centrally located in downtown Atlanta, the Shaky Knees music festival is an indie and rock music lover’s dream. Brett and I attended the 2024 Shaky Knees festival and had a great time! It was our first time attending the music fest, and I was very impressed with the lineup, event coordination (for the most part), and venue in general. If you’re looking to attend this music fest in the coming years, I wanted to share some insights about our experience and information you might find useful! Read on for details of our experience at Shaky Knees in Atlanta:

Table of Contents:

History of Shaky Knees

Shaky Knees is a huge music festival with a big following. It has taken place annually since it was founded in 2013, focusing on indie rock, folk, and alt-rock genres. The list of previous performers is pretty impressive, including Green Day, The Strokes, The Lumineers, Dropkick Murphys, Florence and the Machine, The Killers, and Hozier, to name just a few.

It has moved around a bit within Atlanta, but is dedicated to remaining within the city limits; for the past few years, it has been held in Central Park, which has a larger capacity, allowing for around 40,000 guests.

There are four stages at the festival, with rotating shows running from 11:45 AM through to 11 PM on Friday and Saturday, and 10 PM on Sunday. The biggest acts perform on the Peachtree stage. All the stages are easy to find, and you can move freely between them as you want.

Why We Attended the Festival

I became aware of Shaky Knees because I follow Noah Kahan on Instagram and saw he was playing at a three-day music fest in Atlanta. Brett and I went to one of his concerts in October and the show was great, and, since he’s one of my favorite artists, we decided to look into attending his night at Shaky Knees.

While you can buy single-day tickets, we quickly became enamored by the lineups for the second and third days of the festival. While Noah Kahan headlined on Friday, Saturday had Weezer and The Offspring, among other greats, that caught our eye. Sunday hosted the Foo Fighters, which sealed the deal for us.

Tickets for Shaky Knees

Tickets for Shaky Knees range from single-day admission to three-day admission, with various tiers for both. For the 2024 show, one-day general admission tickets started at $165, with one-day VIP options starting at $490. There was also a one-day platinum option, which started at $1030, and was sold out before we even considered buying tickets. The platinum option allows you to watch the biggest acts (held on the Peachtree Stage) from the stage, among other perks.

For the three-day tickets, general admission started at $365 while VIP started at $905 per person. There was also a GA+ option, starting at $515. Both the GA+ and VIP options sold out fairly early on; they were unavailable when we purchased tickets in December 2023 for the 2024 show.

We had the general admission tickets, which worked out really well for us overall. The bar lines were not terribly long, nor were the food lines. The only time that having GA+ or VIP line access would have been handy was on the last night when we arrived for Foo Fighters; the festival had shut down one of the two security entry points, and the line backed up almost to the entrance of Central Park.

Thoughts on the Music Festival

I was really impressed with Shaky Knees; I cannot imagine the time and energy that goes into coordinating an event of this magnitude!

Getting in to the venue was pretty simple, especially with the wrist bands that they send out ahead of time that act as your ticket. Security checked bags upon entry but still moved pretty smoothly. There was only one entrance to the festival, but they opened two exits each night at the end of the shows to help with crowd control. That being said, there was just a ton of people, so there’s only so much crowd control that can be done.

Merch, Food, & Drinks

Once we were in the Central Park venue, it was easy to find the merch and first major food and drink market. There was only one merch tent — split into two parts: one of Shaky Knees merch, the other of limited individual band merch. However, there were at least two food markets and multiple bar stalls, both next to and between the stages.

The food options were diverse and the lines weren’t terribly long, but everything was pretty expensive. I appreciated the vegetarian and vegan options, though! I got a delicious falafel wrap one of the nights that I was pretty impressed with (I would have been pretty bummed if it wasn’t good, since it was $18).

Same goes for drinks; all the beers and White Claws were large cans and cost around $15. The price was easier to stomach because the cans were large, but still — would definitely add up if you’re there all day! There were water bottle filling stations around that were free, but the bars also sold Liquid Death canned waters for $6. I kept forgetting to bring in my Hydroflask, so I bought a couple of the Liquid Deaths over the course of the weekend.

Watching the Acts

Overall, there was a lot of space to move around with each of the stages. The standing room filled in with the biggest acts — Noah Kahan, The Offspring, Weezer, and Foo Fighters, in our case. If you want to get spots closer to the front of these acts, you may have to miss out on earlier acts, because people showed up for these early.

For each of the acts, the speaker system made it easy to hear the band from way in the back. Most of the stages had big screens showing the act, as well, which were super clear and bright. If you’re on the shorter side like me, it was almost better to be a bit back from the stage, because it was easier to see the screens.

The first two pictures here are from Noah Kahan’s performance on Friday night; the second two are from Weezer’s performance on Saturday.

Things to Know When Attending Shaky Knees

Plan to Do a LOT of Walking

First things first, when attending Shaky Knees, know you’re going to be walking a lot. Whether you ride to and from the venue or not, the Central Park location is huge, so you’ll still get your steps in. Each day, Brett and I easily hit 10,000 steps without even thinking about it. So, wear walking shoes, for sure!

I would recommend closed-toe shoes, in particular. I say this for two reasons: first, if there is rain (as there was on Sunday), the venue turns into a bit of a mudslide. Second, there were lots of cracked or raised sidewalk pieces, which were easy to trip on (and no signage warning about these). So, go with comfortable sneakers with a good tread. My Converse served me well all weekend!

Also, if you are staying at a hotel right around the concert venue, I would recommend just walking back after the venue closes for the night. Traffic was really bad each night of the festival, especially because the road right outside the main entrance and exit is a one-way.

Bring a Reusable Water Bottle

As I mentioned above, the venue provided a few water bottle refill stations, and I saw tons of people walking around with Hydroflasks and similar reusable water bottles. Taking advantage of these will save you money and keep you hydrated!

What to Wear to Shaky Knees

We saw some pretty wild outfits over the course of the music festival! If that’s your vibe, then go for it, but I would definitely recommend going with something comfy.

With all the walking, I was happiest with my leggings-and-tee outfits, paired with my trusty Converse. Optimally, leggings with pockets worked out the best for me, and a bright t-shirt made it easy for Brett and me to find each other if we split up or got separated.

Between the pockets on my leggings and my small Lululemon purse (there were tons of their belt bags at the festival, as well!), I felt like I could easily access everything I need but also keep it secure and safe from the elements in case of rain.

Buy Merch Early

If you see a cute Shaky Knees tank top on the first day…buy the cute tank top. I waited until Saturday to check out the merch because the line was fairly long on Friday, and, by then, they were sold out of a few of the cutest styles.

Luckily, though, they had at least three concert tee options, besides the cute tank top that sold out. They also had multiple styles of hats and other memorabilia.

Save Screenshots of the Lineup

The Shaky Knees instagram did a great job of updating followers about who was playing each day and where. Cell reception was pretty good throughout our time at the music festival, but it wasn’t perfect, and Instagram (and the internet in general) often took a while to load, or failed to load entirely. Brett and I each screenshotted the lineup each day, which made it easier to know where to go during busy times. They make handy graphics of the lineup like the ones below:

Get to the Big Acts Early

The headliners who played on the Peachtree and Piedmont Stages attracted huge crowds, with many people coming in to the concert just for that act. So, if you want to be up front, you have to arrive really early.

For reference, we arrived to Noah Kahan’s stage around 8:30, when he was set to start at 9:30, and got pretty good spots about halfway up the field. We arrived at the same stage for Weezer the next night at around 7:45 (they started at 9:30) and were about two-thirds of the way up the field.

Learn More About Shaky Knees

Are you interested in attending Shaky Knees next year? Follow the Shaky Knees music festival Instagram here for their updates, and keep an eye on their website here for information on next year’s line up! I began seeing information about their May 2024 lineup around November 2023, for reference.

Shaky Knees FAQ

• Can you leave and re-enter the venue each day? – Yes, you can enter the venue, leave, and then come back into the venue again later in the same day. You just have to scan your wrist band each time at the security station.
  
  
• What are the festival’s dates, hours, and location? – Check their website for the dates of forthcoming festivals. Based on the Shaky Knees Festival 2024, the festival runs from 11:30 AM to 11 PM on Friday and Saturday, and from 11:30 AM to 10 PM on Sunday. It is held at Central Park in Atlanta, Georgia; the entrance address is 395 Piedmont Ave, Atlanta, GA 30308.
  
  
• Can you bring a bag or purse into Shaky Knees? – Yes, you can bring purses and bags! You can read the full Shaky Knees bag policy here, but they do allow small purses and fanny packs that are 6 inches by 9 inches or smaller. Larger bags are allowed but must be see-through and can be no larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches. The merch tent sold tote bags, though, and those seemed to be allowed in the venue.
  
  
• Does Shaky Knees host other concerts? – Yes, Shaky Knees had a series of “Late Night Shows” with different acts from the festival lineup. These were held at different venues in the Atlanta area. You can learn more about these shows here.
  
  
• How many people attend Shaky Knees? – The three-day music festival draws in somewhere around 40,000 attendees!

What to Do in Atlanta, Georgia

Heading to Shaky Knees in Atlanta? Check out more great spots in the city while you’re there!

• Sweet Water Brewery
• Brick Store Pub
• Exploring Emory University