Shaky Knees 2018 Announced!

I know, you're thinking "WTF is Shaky Knees?" And I get that.  I'm not going to try to discuss each and every single festival lineup that pops up on the radar over the next few months.  But I have two reasons for discussing this one: (1) This is a great lineup for a mid-tier festival; and (2) this 'fest is also booked by C3, so this should be a good indication of some of the bands and artists that are on C3's radar before booking ACL.  

You're missing some of the major headliners I'd need to be happy at ACL, but you are definitely scoring a ton of great stuff that would show up in lines 3-6 of the ACL poster.

Jack White and QOTSA are freaking awesome.  I'd love to see both of them right away.  I've got tickets to see QOTSA at COTA in April, and am pumped for that show.  I don't love The National as much as others, but I actually do like the new "Day I Die" single.  And like I said, if those 3 topped the poster for ACL, that would be a major issue, but if they were the 4th, 6th, and 7th bands on the poster, that'd be top notch.

But the strength of this poster is after those, with Talking Heads O.G. David Byrne, Fleet Foxes, War on Drugs, Cake (FREAKING CAKE!!!), Courtney Barnett, Nathaniel Rateliff, Lord Huron, Franz Ferdinand, Black Angels, Alvvays, Waxahatchee, Bully, Lukas Nelson, and Welles.  That is pretty rad.

Although, after typing all of that out, it dawned on me why I think this one is good.  Its because it is rap and EDM-free.  (well, some of those bands may be rap or EDM and I just don't know them)  So, somehow, Atlanta, ground zero for half of the popular rap on the charts right now, is going to put on a Middle Aged White Guy Music Festival.  I hope it works for them, but it seems commercially questionable.  Where Coachella went entirely the other way, and apparently wants all the rap and pop and alternative R&B and EDM it can get its hands on, the Shaky Knees folks went the other direction.  I wish them all the luck in the world so that more of these kinds of bands will be booked for future shows!

[EDIT] My friend just pointed out that there is a sister festival to this one, called Shaky Beats, where all of the EDM and Rap has been banished together.  It is happening at the same time, so you'd have to choose.  Very easy choice for me.  The Chainsmokers are butt.  Other than Girltalk and Flatbush Zombies, I'd avoid everything on this poster.