My Chemical Romance, Public Enemy perform: 10 highlights from Shaky Knees Day 2
The second day of Shaky Knees Music Festival 2025 at Piedmont Park in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood saw temperatures soar into the 90s, with a pop-up shower coming right before the Linda Lindas took to the Ponce de Leon stage.
A little rain and unseasonable heat didn’t put a damper on a day packed with performances from acts including Fat Dog, the Linda Linda, TV on the Radio, Black Keys and My Chemical Romance.
Shaky Knees resumes at noon Sunday with a lineup featuring bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Weird Al Yankovic, Murder By Death, Devo, Alabama Shakes and Blink-182.
In case you missed it, here are seven highlights from Day 1 and 10 more from Day 2:
Girl Tones
Attendees with hangovers or the morning blues had them bulldozed immediately courtesy of Girl Tones’ blistering, staccato blasts of garage rock. Sisters Laila and Kenzie, playing matching blue drums and guitars respectively, delivered an energetic set.
“Thank you Shaky so much!” yelled Kenzie as she worked in a hydration reminder and noted the pair had enjoyed seeing Idles, Pixies and the Deftones the day before.
“Blame” stood out in the set, as did a raucous cover of the Vines’ “Get Free.” Kenzie commanded the stage, even winding up on her back at one point. Girl Tones finished their set with the commanding new single “Cherry Picker,” featuring solid harmonies and Kenzie’s baritone guitar. — Matthew W. Smith
Hey, Nothing
Atlanta’s own Hey, Nothing, expressing disbelief at playing a part in their hometown festival, brought their signature emo folk sounds and plenty of humor to the proceedings.
“This is my biggest dream come true,” said Harlow Philips, one-half of the duo. Tyler Mabry jokingly introduced the band as headliners My Chemical Romance, with the backdrop betraying their real name plus the festival name and an “Oh yeah!” for good measure.
The local crowd loved “Black Bear” and its weary harmonies, along with songs like “33°” and “Too Drunk to Drive.” Promising that “we’re gonna get sad now,” the group played top song “Waiting Room” and then improvised the set’s conclusion after they realized they had 10 minutes to spare.
“This is the best day of our lives,” promised Harlow, and the crowd did everything it could to affirm that belief. — Matthew W. Smith
The Beaches
Indie pop quartet the Beaches got the crowd bouncing early with their catchy, danceable brand of indie pop. Hailing from Toronto’s Beaches neighborhood and continuing the day’s sisterly theme (with guitarist Kylie Miller and singer/bassist Jordan Miller), the band shook off the blazing sun with opener “Last Girls at the Party.”
New album “No Hard Feelings” was featured prominently throughout and that title even made its way onto Eliza Enman-McDaniel’s drumhead. “Did I Say Too Much” stood out, with Jordan’s soaring vocals intertwining with Kylie’s guitar solo, as the latter dropped to her knees mid-song.
Guitarist Leandra Earl celebrated her 31st birthday with an onstage announcement, accepting roaring best wishes from everyone in attendance. “Sorry For Your Loss,” another new song, was a late highlight from a set chock full of them. — Matthew W. Smith
Johnny Marr
Manchester, England’s Johnny Marr and his crack backing band of three delivered an afternoon set heavy on songs from Marr’s formative years in the Smiths.
“Panic” featured his slide guitar work, and he switched to an acoustic guitar for popular B-side “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.” A year after his most recent local show at the Eastern, Marr was effusive in his greeting: “Thank you so much, Atlanta—nice to see y’all again.”
The Smiths parade continued with “This Charming Man” and the hypnotic hit “How Soon Is Now?” His fine form extended to his solo material as well, with the pulsating “Generate! Generate!” a highlight, along with the catchy singalong “Easy Money.” — Matthew W. Smith
The Linda Lindas
After the tiniest of afternoon drizzles, California band the Linda Lindas took the Ponce de Leon stage by storm with their frenetic punk energy.
“Thank you for having us!” exclaimed guitarist Lucia de la Garza, whose fellow group members include (continuing our theme) sister and drummer Mila de la Garza, cousin and bassist Eloise Wong and friend and guitarist Bela Salazar.
Just months after playing a local club show in support of second album “No Obligation,” the band started its set with that title track, a no-holds-barred slice of punk with lead vocals from Wong.
“Too Many Things” was another highlight from a group of songs focused mostly on the newest record and exhibiting pure joy throughout. Rock’s future looks set to benefit from the Linda Lindas (whose ages range from 15 to 21) for many years to come. — Matthew W. Smith
TV on the Radio
It’s been more than 20 years since the release of “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes,” the seminal debut of indie rock band TV on the Radio, and lead singer Tunde Adebimpe has the salt-and-pepper beard to prove it.
But while the group, which started performing together again in fall 2024 after a five-year hiatus, might look a bit more distinguished, they sound as tight and exciting as they did in the mid-aughts, when they became known as one of the most innovative bands to come out of the New York music scene at the time.
Dressed all in black, Adebimpe led the group through a setlist that included some of their biggest songs, starting out with “Young Liars” and moving on to highlights “Happy Idiot,” “Wolf Like Me” and “Dancing Choose,” which all became singalongs with the crowd, with impressive assists by touring members trombone player Dave “Smoota” Smith and drummer Jahphet Landis.
“I’m grateful you still care,” Adebimpe said toward the end of the set, thanking the crowd for their years of support before launching into “Staring at the Sun.” “I’m grateful when anyone gives a f--- about anything.” — Yvonne Zusel
All-American Rejects
It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than 20 years since Oklahoma pop-punk band The All-American Rejects made a splash with their self-titled debut, which included breakout hit “Swing, Swing.”
The group opened their Shaky Knees set with a bouncy version of the tune, and continued to deliver several hits over the course of their set, including the anthemic (and apt for the day’s weather) “Sweat,” the plaintive “It Ends Tonight” and the singalong finale, “Gives You Hell.”
Frontman Tyler Ritter’s cheeky sense of humor was on full display throughout. He talked to an inflatable giraffe and banana that crowd members held aloft and performed a mock ceremony for a newly engaged couple.
“Let’s just do it right here, we have a lot of witnesses,” he told the couple. “Don’t worry, it’s not legally binding.” — Yvonne Zusel
Public Enemy
Flanked as usual by onstage security the S1Ws plus two DJs and a drummer, fighting fit Public Enemy mainstays Chuck D and Flavor Flav tore their way through a dynamic set with barely enough time to breathe between songs.
Wearing matching camouflage (with Flavor’s wardrobe of course accentuated with white sunglasses and a black and white alarm clock), the pair traded rhymes and encouraged the crowd to flash peace signs and support love, not war.
Several songs from new album “Black Sky Over The Projects” featured, including “Confusion (Here Come The Drums)” and the lightning-quick “Public Enemy Comin’ Throoooo.” Chuck gave a shout-out to Goodie Mob and Flavor a more specific one to CeeLo Green, with both giving a nod to the Dirty South.
Decades of wisdom and experience shone as the group played song after legendary song, from “Don’t Believe the Hype” to “Welcome to the Terrordome” to “Bring the Noise.” Flavor Flav’s court jester hype man persona can make it easy to overlook his skills on the mic, but on two of his best-known performances, “911 Is a Joke” and “Can’t Do Nuttin’ for Ya Man,” he reminded the crowd what he can do when featured.
Public Enemy ended the set with their signature song, “Fight the Power,” an anthem as powerful today as it was when composed for Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing” in 1989. Flavor Flav walked into the crowd and took a photo, joining Chuck in an exhortation for everyone to fight racism and promote peace. — Matthew W. Smith
Black Keys
Athens, Ohio blues rock duo the Black Keys — singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney — delivered a no-nonsense, hard driving set that included some of their biggest hits.
“Gold on the Ceiling” served as a solid opener, while “Howlin’ For You,” with its “da da da da” chorus, became an obvious singalong. While the hourlong performance was light on patter, Auerbach took a brief detour from charging through the setlist when he brought out The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who performed his own Shaky Knees set earlier in the day, for a subdued but effective version of “Everlasting Light.”
Another highlight was the guitar interplay between Auerbach and touring guitarist Barrie Cadogan, who wowed on “I Got Mine” and “Man on a Mission.” — Yvonne Zusel
My Chemical Romance
Judging by the number of festivalgoers in fishnet tights, theatrical makeup and combat boots even early in the day, it was clear that My Chemical Romance was going to be one of the biggest draws of the Shaky Knees weekend.
Indeed, the field in front of the Peachtree stage was packed with MCR fans eager to hear the band perform in metro Atlanta for the first time in three years.
Lead singer Gerard Way led the group through a highly theatrical 105-minute set, blazing through hits including “Welcome to the Black Parade,” “House of Wolves” and “Helena.”
Band members all dressed in old European infantry-inspired jackets similar to the ones they wore when they released their 2006 concept album “The Black Parade.” They leaned heavily into the dystopian military vibe, with Way checking in frequently with a “dictator” seated in a throne on the stage.
The hard-driving “Mama” was performed against a backdrop of red lights and bursts of fire, creating an unhinged cabaret vibe, while “Welcome to the Wolf Parade,” arguably the band’s most popular song, turned into a raucous singalong. — Yvonne Zusel
About the Authors
Yvonne Zusel has been with the AJC since 2010. She worked on the digital news and food and dining teams before joining the arts & entertainment team.
