Four stages, three days, and one of the heaviest lineups Atlanta has seen from this festival in years. Here’s who you need to see.

Words by Savannah Warwick | 18 Sep 2-26

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Shaky Knees has a habit of sneaking up on you. You go in thinking you’ve got the weekend mapped out, and by Sunday night you’ve abandoned the schedule twice and ended up somewhere completely unplanned, usually for the better. This year’s bill is stacked enough that abandoning the plan feels less like an accident and more like the only sensible option. Grab some sunscreen, brace for the humidity, and get ready for three days of some of the most vital names in alternative music descending on the park. Here’s who we’d hate for you to miss.

Hot Mulligan | Criminal Records Stage, Friday

If you haven’t caught them live yet, prepare for barely controlled chaos in the best way possible. Unhinged energy, sharp songwriting, and a frontman who treats the mic stand like it owes him money. An early set, but one that’ll set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

Geese | Piedmont Stage, Friday

Geese keep shapeshifting with every release, and their live show has followed suit, part unhinged garage rock, part something stranger and more exploratory. Catch them now while they’re still a relatively well kept secret.

Turnstile | Peachtree Stage, Friday

At this point Turnstile don’t need an introduction, they need a warning label. Crowds move differently for them now, and Friday evening on the Peachtree Stage is where you’ll see exactly why they’ve earned a slot this size. Groove heavy, genre agnostic, and built for a pit that doesn’t stop from note one. Get there early or accept you’ll be watching from the back.

Fontaines D.C. | Piedmont Stage, Friday

The Dubliners are on a run that shows no sign of slowing, and a Piedmont Stage slot at 8:30 puts them right in the sweet spot of the night. Expect something moodier and more widescreen than a typical festival set, the kind of performance that makes the rest of the field go quiet for the right reasons.

The Strokes | Piedmont Stage, Friday

Closing out Friday on Piedmont, The Strokes remain one of the most reliable big room draws going, whatever your relationship with garage rock revival. Big lights, bigger singalongs, and a back catalogue deep enough that even the deep cuts land like hits.

Taking Back Sunday | Ponce De Leon Stage, Saturday

Emo that built entire scenes, still delivered with the same conviction decades later. Adam Lazzara knows exactly how to work a crowd that grew up screaming these songs into a bedroom mirror, and this slot is going to be one long singalong from start to finish.

Blood Orange | Piedmont Stage, Saturday

Dev Hynes brings smooth, genre blurring pop to a bill that’s mostly guitars, and that contrast is exactly what makes this one worth catching. A welcome change of pace in the middle of a heavy day.

Pierce the Veil | Peachtree Stage, Saturday

Post-hardcore theatrics done properly. Vic Fuentes and co have spent close to two decades turning technical, hook-heavy songwriting into genuine festival spectacle, and this crowd is going to know every word. Expect crowd surfers from the first chorus onward.

The Prodigy | Piedmont Stage, Saturday

There’s no gentle way to put this: The Prodigy at 8:30 on Piedmont is going to be a full sensory assault, and that’s exactly the point. Decades in, they still hit like a band with something to prove. If your legs can take it, get up front.

Twenty One Pilots | Peachtree Stage, Saturday

Saturday’s headline slot goes to a band built for exactly this scale. Whatever side of the Twenty One Pilots discourse you land on, there’s no denying they know how to fill a field and hold it, and this is the kind of set that’ll have the whole park singing back at once.

Showing Teeth | Ponce De Leon Stage, Sunday

An early one, but not one to sleep on. Showing Teeth bring the kind of urgent, no frills energy that’s perfect for shaking off the previous two days before the rest of Sunday gets going.

Ok Go | Ponce De Leon Stage, Sunday

Guaranteed spectacle, in the best possible sense. Whatever you know them for, expect a set that’s as much a visual event as a musical one, and easily one of the more purely fun bookings on this lineup.

American Hi Fi | Criminal Records Stage, Sunday

A blast of pure power pop nostalgia in the middle of the afternoon. American Hi Fi know exactly what they are and lean fully into it, hooks first, no apologies.

Wu-Tang Clan | Peachtree Stage, Sunday

A genuine outlier on a bill like this, and that’s precisely why it matters. Catching Wu-Tang Clan at a festival built around guitar music is a rare enough occasion to demand your full attention, and this crew has never phoned in a live show yet.

LCD Soundsystem | Piedmont Stage, Sunday

Few live acts translate to a festival field quite like LCD Soundsystem. James Murphy and co build these sets like a slow burn, and by the time the momentum peaks there won’t be a single person standing still.

Gorillaz | Peachtree Stage, Sunday

Closing out the entire weekend, Gorillaz bring one of the most inventive, visually loaded live shows still touring today. It’s the kind of set that sends you home properly. There’s no better way to end three days like this.