April is always an exciting time for live music. With the days becoming longer and the air feeling warmer, springtime marks the beginning of many tour announcements and outdoor concert series. The Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta celebrates alternative rock, hosting dozens of bands over the span of three days—this year taking place Apr. 29–May 1. While the festival always boasts stellar performances from well known rock stars and world-renowned artists, Shaky Knees is also a wonderful vessel for music discovery, and I consistently fall in love with bands that I had previously never heard of until arriving at the festival grounds. The euphoric sensations generated from this lively musical experience are multiplied by the contagiously positive aura of the audience. Year after year, I find audience members to be enthusiastic and polite, and overall, everybody is absolutely stoked to be there. 2022 marks my fourth year attending the festival and first time experiencing the weekend in its entirety. In addition to performances from headliners Green Day, Nine Inch Nails and My Morning Jacket, here are a few artists in particular that I am highly anticipating:
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard is an Australian psychedelic rock band known for their prolific music discography spanning over 20 studio albums. Experimenting in an array of genres including garage rock, metal, jazz, folk and jam, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard loves to keep fans on their toes by constantly delivering unique and unpredictable setlists at every individual performance. The band was originally scheduled to perform on the festival’s 2020 lineup.
POORSTACY is a genre-bending hip-hop artist with influences from punk and heavy metal. Pioneering as one of the small print undercard artists slated to perform on Saturday, POORSTACY progresses the culture of South Florida hip-hop while also bringing elements of rock back into mainstream appeal.
Faye Webster is an Atlanta native singer-songwriter known for conveying expressive lyricism through beautiful vocal delivery and slow grooves. Creating music along the lines of alternative country, R&B and indie folk, Faye Webster has a lot of buzz in the Athens area, playing at the Georgia Theatre on more than one occasion.
Khruangbin is likely going to be one of the most chill and atmospheric experiences of the weekend. The Houston trio is known for blending Thai musical influences with rock, soul, dub and psychedelia. The group’s performance is highly anticipated as it sold out a three-day run of shows in Atlanta at the end of 2021.
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