Moving the Shaky Knees Music Festival from Central Park in the spring to Piedmont Park in the fall went as smoothly as could be expected. Shaky Knees held its annual festival from Sept. 19 to 21 at Piedmont Park.
Reading messages on Next Door and other social media apps, the level of outrage was minimal. Most people understood that the additional traffic and noise were expected when living in an urban area next to the city’s signature park.
“Piedmont Park has always been a gathering spot for our community, going back to the Cotton States Exposition [in the late 1800s],” said Doug Widener, president and CEO of the Piedmont Park Conservancy. “Piedmont Park is one of our city’s major places where Atlanta gathers.”
Shaky Knees moved to Piedmont Park by taking the dates that had been held by Music Midtown. Music. Shaky Knees, founded by Tim Sweetwood, is produced by C3 Presents. Live Nation, which produced the Music Midtown, now owns C3 Presents. For the record, Music Midtown went on hiatus for the 2024 festival, and there’s no word about whether it will ever resurface.
In talking to several people at Shaky Knees, during and after, the consensus was that the move to Piedmont Park was a success. The sold-out festival appeared to have a record number of attendees, with people filling up every corner of the fenced-in festival area inside Piedmont Park.
“People voted with their feet,” said Kevin Greiner, president and CEO of Gas South, a frequent concert goer who has been to many Music Midtown and Shaky Knees music festivals over the years. “It’s a more beautiful location with the ample fields and the hills for viewing. It is just a bigger natural environment.”
The line-up of artists seemed to draw people in. From the top headliners, Deftones, My Chemical Romance and Blink-182, to the bands that were a tier lower, Lenny Kravitz, the Marias, Pixies, Cage the Elephant, the Black Keys, Public Enemy, Alabama Shakes and Vampire Weekend.
“Shaky Knees does a really good job of having great undercards,” Greiner said. “They do a great job finding up-and-coming artists who can rise to the moment. For me, the earlier bands were the ones I enjoyed most.”
For example, Greiner was thrilled to be able to see Mdou Moctar, an amazing lead guitarist from Niger, who he said reminded him of Jimi Hendrix.
Sweetwood and press representatives for C3 and Live Nation had not responded to emailed questions about attendance, the move and future plans by press time. I look forward to having an opportunity to speak with them whenever it’s possible.
Randall Kirsch, a partner at the Jackson Spalding public relations and marketing firm, has been to Shaky Knees almost every year since it started (in 2013).
“I think the move to Piedmont Park is a big win,” Kirsch said in a text. “It just felt right having one of our signature music festivals find its home in Atlanta’s signature park.”
Kirsch, who had never gone to Music Midtown, felt Shaky Knees had found a good formula by appealing to music lovers of different generations.
“Overall, I thought the event came off beautifully, and I was super impressed by the all-ages turnout,” Kirsch said. “Seemed like way more people than prior years.”
On a positive note, Shaky Knees offered garbage bags to festival goers to pick up recyclable cans in return for a free T-shirt. On a down note, the VIP experience was not as attractive as it had been before at Central Park, partly because there was now an even more expensive Premium pass that usurped the access once offered to VIP ticket holders.
“I felt like it was a little oversold,” Greiner said. “VIP area got really crowded and didn’t always create a better viewing experience than general admission.
On Monday morning, Widener complimented C3, saying the festival promoter had created “a small city in the state’s largest city” during the 2025 Shaky Knees in Piedmont Park.
“They demonstrated they know how to do this and how to do this right,” Widener said. “For as large an event as this, there’s no way of getting around how impactful it is on the community and the park. But for such a large event, it was well done and well-managed.”
The Piedmont Park Conservancy works with the City of Atlanta on limiting the number of major “Class A” festivals to a maximum of six each year. The six are: the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Peachtree Road Race, Shaky Knees/Music Midtown, Atlanta Pride Festival and One Music Fest. Shaky Knees and One Music Fest are the only two ticketed events.
“In working with the community, there’s an opportunity for us to look at the balance between programming and letting the park recover,” Widener said. “We have to get the balance right.”
For Widener, the highlight was being able to hear one of his favorite artists, Johnny Marr.
“As a music lover, it was hard to beat that line-up,” Widener said. I left there feeling proud to be an Atlantan and so glad to have this resource here.”
By Monday morning, Widener had not yet had an opportunity to talk to the festival promoters. But from looking at drone shots, he said that “by nearly every indication, this was a smashing success.”
Weather is always the riskiest part of putting on an outdoor music festival. The lack of rain in Atlanta this past month caused the park to be particularly dusty over the weekend causing several attendees to use scarves or masks to limit breathing in dust.
By comparison, during Music Midtown in 2013, a deluge leading up to the performance by the Red-Hot Chili Peppers caused severe damage to Piedmont Park that led to parts of the Meadow being closed for six months so grass could return.
Michael Halicki, president and CEO of Park Pride, said events of this scale can be hard on the park. But after attending his first Shaky Knees, he could hardly contain his enthusiasm.
“The sheer scale of the event was unlike anything I have ever attended in the park,” Halicki said. “I’m glad that Atlanta is able to host events of the scale and with the range of artists.”
The Piedmont Park Conservancy just completed its latest Comprehensive Development Plan, which hopes to strike a balance between all the special events, with multiple held almost every weekend throughout the year except during the middle of winter, and the ability for the park to continue functioning as a healthy green space for the city.
Widener hopes to continue working with the city and event organizers on finding ways to promote the Conservancy, the park and the community.
One idea would be to bring back the “Green Concerts,” a major fundraiser for the Conservancy that ended in 2013. The Allman Brothers, the Dave Matthews Band and Paul McCartney were featured over the years.
It would be wonderful if C3, the Conservancy and the city could partner to revive the Green Concerts and celebrate the role Piedmont Park plays in our city. Such a move likely would mean that One Music Fest would have to go to another location, which it did last year.
No matter what, major music festivals like Shaky Knees contribute to our economy and help make our city special.
William Pate, president and CEO of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, said concerts drive economic activity because they happen on weekends when there’s little convention business in the city.
For Greiner, Shaky Knees helps put Atlanta on the map as a music city.
“Music festivals, done well, bring people together and spread joy like few other events,” Greiner said. “Shaky Knees has become one of the marquee events that showcases Atlanta’s collective love of music and community.”
Shaky Knees would work great in the Franklin Park. The park needs some big events to draw people and define where to put things. Atlanta needs a second big park venue. The West Side park is bigger than Piedmont and can use a big lawn.