Shaky Knees Music Festival, a three-day festival hosted at Atlanta’s Centennial Park, is celebrating their fifth year this year. Headliners include Phoenix, LCD Soundsystem, and the xx.
Friday marked the official kick off with 22 bands playing between three stages spread across Centennial Olympic Park, with the Ferris wheel and Atlanta skyline as a backdrop.
Festival goers had a close call Friday with storms and rain threatening the surrounding areas. While lightening was visible from the park, it didn’t encroach close enough to cause any delays to the music and fans only had to deal with a few drops of rain. The overcast day gave fans a break from the usual heat and sunburns incurred at outdoor festivals this time of year.
Portugal. The Man and Cage the Elephant were both standouts on the Peachtree Stage. Cage the Elephant’s frontman and guitarist both took turns crowd surfing and delivering a high energy set. They easily stole the night as best standout for their powerful performance.
Highly Suspect, FIDLAR, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Pixies, and LCD Soundsystem also performed Friday.
Gates open at 11:30 a.m. each day. Stay tuned for daily coverage and photo galleries from the festival. Saturday’s highlights include mostly alternative bands and artists like the xx, X Ambassadors, Catfish and the Bottlemen, The Revivalists, and Bishop Briggs.