Shaky Knees shakes up their lineup
More stories from Ellie Butterfield
The Shaky Knees music festival just released their lineup for the 2017 festival in May, and the indie kids’ knees are trembling at the sight of the festival’s best lineup yet.
Like the past four years, the lineup is mostly comprised of indie bands, including The XX, Dr. Dog, The Shins and Twin Peaks. Also following tradition, Cage the Elephant, Portugal. The Man, Moon Taxi and Pixies are recycled bands that have played at previous Shaky Knees festivals.
The headliners were well chosen this year; LCD Soundsystem’s punk dance tunes give festivalgoers a place to groove, the chill indie pop sound of The xx provides a nice break after dancing in the sun for hours, and Phoenix is so cheery that even those who showed up for FIDLAR and Modern Baseball will smile.
Third Eye Blind is likely only included due to high demand for their iconic ‘90s jam, “Semi-Charmed Life.” Other odd men out include The Growlers, the first ever beach goth band to take the stage in Centennial Olympic Park.
Even the bands nearing the bottom of the lineup don’t lack quality, though. Ron Gallo, as well as several other of the lesser-known bands, provides a unique sound that’s like a mix of Car Seat Headrest and Pinegrove, and festival attendees can see all three shows.
Artists included in the lineup like Ron Gallo represent something that Shaky Knees has done successfully this year: creating a unity across several genres of artists. Sylvan Esso’s moody synth sounds seem to be the exact opposite to FIDLAR’s garage rock, but when looked at holistically, the festival has the same fun, exciting vibe that it’s upheld for years.
This vibe is what makes the date, May 12-14, perfect for the festival. When thinking about all these bands playing in the same park for a weekend, one can’t help but feel the May sunshine.
One-, two-, or three-day tickets can be purchased on the Shaky Knees website for the festival.
Milo Hume • Aug 30, 2017 at 12:31 am
wow! riveting review!