After joining a cult (Tenacious D) on Day 2 at Shaky Knees I was interested in what would happen at Day 3 at the 2023 festival. However, my Budget rental car had a different idea. I had a tire blow and it delayed me getting to the festival by a significant amount of time. I was super excited to see Snail Mail, Trash Panda, and Future Islands and missed all three acts. I walked up midway through Father John Misty’s set and listened to it from the Peachtree state. From a distance it was a good show, but will not be in my review. Read my full Day 3 review of Shaky Knees below.
Hozier
If you wanted to find a perfect set, it was Hozier. Hozier chants flooded the Peachtree stage more than a half hour before showing up for the set. When Andrew Hozier-Byrne showed up to the stage fans saw the 6-foot-6 singer-songwriter peaking over the fence lining the walk up to the stage and screams erupted. That was only the start though. Fans lined the field in anticipation to see Hozier on their latest tour. The set began with Hozier’s newest single ‘Eat Your Young’ and despite it being the newest single the entire festival crowd was singing along to the song. That carried over as ‘Eden’ and ‘Jackie and Wilson’ were next in the lineup. Hit after hit Hozier blew the roof off of the outdoor festival. Weird cliche to write, but it fits. I have replayed the set in my head numerous times since the festival. Hozier’s voice is incredible and echoed impressively over the Shaky Knees crowd. One of the highlights of the entire festival was hearing ‘Take Me To Church’ live. As Hozier’s vocals soared over the festival I captured a fan tossing their glow sticks in the air at the perfect moment. Watch it now and see why I loved this performance so much.
The Lumineers
The Lumineers are an incredible live act. A perfect festival act as well. Their set felt even more special when it was announced that they were the first headliners of Shaky Knees Festival ten years prior. Now, The Lumineers returned for the celebration of 10 years of Shaky Knees and wrapped the festival in the most beautiful fashion. Lead singer Wesley Schultz thanked the festival for being one of the first to give them the honor of headlining. Their live act blows me away each time I see them. The set was the same setlist and stage design as when I saw them for the first time at Sound on Sound Festival, and despite having seen it still was left with a special feeling from their performance. Each member of the band puts their all into every show. I love their chemistry. From the little toe tap routine that Wesley and Lauren Jacobson share during the performance to Jeremiah Fraites being raised from under the cat walk with his drum kit. Stelth Ulvang is a show man. At different points of the set he climbed the side of the stage ladder high into the crowd, he did a head stand on his piano, and even an acrobatic jump off of it. The joy they have playing on stage translates over the entire crowd and it is perfect every single time even if you’ve seen it before.