Shaky Knees 2023: Huge Photo Gallery of Day One & Festival Review

The Shaky Knees Music Festival is a renowned annual event that has firmly established itself as a staple in Atlanta’s music festival calendar. This year was their 10th anniversary, and the lineup definitely rose to the occasion. Back at Central Park, with a new entrance aimed at making festival-goers feel safe by keeping metal detectors intact, Shaky Knees also kept their usual yummy variety of food and drink offerings in addition to the stellar musical acts.

The park’s greenery and trees create a welcoming atmosphere, offering a peaceful feel (and SHADE!) inside a bustling city. The festival’s organizers ensure that the layout is thoughtfully designed, with multiple stages and curated spaces that somehow facilitate excellent sightlines and ease of movement. It only felt packed towards the end of the night, despite Shaky being completely sold out this year. Day One had quite a bit of drizzling rain throughout, but in some ways that bonded us all in a “we can do it” attitude.

While primarily a rock festival, Shaky Knees attracts a blend of emerging talents and well-established acts, showcasing indie rock, alternative, folk, and everything in between. Special shout out to Atlanta native Killer Mike (from Run The Jewels) for stepping in at the very last minute when Manchester Orchestra had medical issues. And, yes, you may notice I don’t have photos of headliners The Killers, but I expected that since they are notorious for not letting photographers in. I still managed to catch NINE acts on Friday and every single one was incredible. I have seen a few of the below before but definitely would want to see ANY of them again and again.

Shaky Knees have just announced the dates for next year: May 3-5, 2024 and I have already blocked my calendar. Stay tuned for Day Two and Three!

Shaky Knees 2023 – Day 1 Photos

Photos displayed in random order. Click any thumbnail for a larger version. Then use the navigation arrows (or your keyboard arrow keys) to move left and right through the photographs.

Check out our other posts from Shaky Knees and other music festivals!