Damon Albarn's animated universe — a genre-omnivorous hits machine and guest-star carousel, two decades of cartoon cover for some of pop's best songwriting.
Shaky Knees 2026 Lineup
Atlanta's rock festival in Piedmont Park: three days of guitars, from garage legends to hardcore's new kings.
Find the acts you'll love at Shaky Knees
Name a few bands you love and we'll scout all 53 acts on the Shaky Knees bill for the ones you shouldn't miss.
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Set times are out for Shaky Knees 2026. Save any act and it lands on your day-by-day plan, with overlapping sets flagged so you can see what you would miss. No account needed to start.
About Shaky Knees 2026
Shaky Knees is Atlanta's rock festival, full stop: three September days in Piedmont Park where the bill runs from garage-rock legends to hardcore's new kings and the skyline does the backdrop work. The 2026 lineup is a guitar lover's fever dream: The Strokes, Gorillaz, and Twenty One Pilots up top; Pavement, LCD Soundsystem, and Wu-Tang Clan in the canon slots; reunions from Minus the Bear, The Rapture, and Jet; and enough emo and punk (Knocked Loose, Taking Back Sunday, Pierce The Veil) to keep every generation's neck sore. At 53 acts it's the most walkable of the big Southern festivals, so you can actually see most of what you want.
One late change: Jimmy Eat World pulled out three days before the gates opened, after singer Jim Adkins needed emergency eye surgery. Peach Pit moved up into their Saturday slot on the Peachtree stage, and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets now play twice that day, an afternoon set on Ponce de Leon ahead of their evening one at Criminal Records.
Expect rock, indie rock, alt-rock and indie across 53 acts.
Shaky Knees 2026 lineup & schedule: all 53 acts
Search it, filter by day, stage or genre. Save anything straight to your schedule.Browse all 53 acts →
Search it, filter by day, stage or genre. Save anything straight to your schedule.
The band that rebooted New York rock — a deep catalog of deadpan cool, still untouchable live when the engine catches.
Genre-agnostic arena duo — rap, ukulele, and existential dread with a devoted Clique, lore deep enough for a wiki.
Moody English guitar-folk — from the campfire anthems of 'Every Kingdom' to gorgeous, murky experimentalism, following his own quiet obsessions rather than the charts.
Dev Hynes's velvety art-R&B — '80s soul textures, jazz chords, and quiet heartbreak from one of pop's most sought-after collaborators.
Melodic-rap architects — the first to make harmony singing and double-time flow one seamless thing, with 'Tha Crossroads' still landing like a hymn.
Oingo Boingo's madman turned Tim Burton's composer — a berserk orchestral-rock spectacle that mashes film scores into art-punk chaos.
Dublin's poet-punks grown into arena-scale alt-rock — 'Romance' made them era-defining, swagger and melancholy in equal Irish measure.
Unhinged Brooklyn art-rock — yelping, swaggering, and critically adored, like the Stones reassembled by art students mid-fever.
Midwest emo's chaotic favorites — screamed choruses, absurd song titles, real feelings, and a crowd that knows every word including the yelps.
Kentucky hardcore built on the meanest two-step riffs going, with Bryan Garris's shriek cutting clean over the top — heaviness that crossed over without softening.
The dance-punk philosopher kings — 'All My Friends' remains the great festival closer, and James Murphy its most self-aware master of ceremonies.
Isaac Brock's jittery, seasick guitar songs about the highway and the void — three decades of them, still unmistakable from the first yelp.
The slacker-rock canon itself — crooked rain and all, reunion sets played with the same shrug that made them legends.
Chewed-bubblegum indie pop — jangly, wry, effortlessly likable, with more guitar firepower live than the records suggest.
San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.
Genre-collapsing alt-pop pioneer — 'L.E.S. Artistes' to now, always ahead, new wave and dancehall in one voice.
Lo-fi electroclash duo — distorted synths and detached vocals for the afterparty, Detroit cool for the post-everything generation.
Long Island emo royalty — mic-swinging catharsis, twenty-plus years deep, 'MakeDamnSure' still a communal throat-shred, and yes, the mic still swings.
Firestarters, still — the UK's rave-punk institution hits harder than bands half their age, three decades of menace intact.
Hardcore's joyful crossover kings — dreamy interludes, stage dives, total communion, and a crowd that moves as one.
Nine MCs over dusty kung-fu-flick soul loops — still the most-imitated blueprint in rap, '36 Chambers' eternal.
Berlin-via-Cape Town dream-folk — honeyed, unhurried songs that grew from street-performance beginnings into a quietly devoted worldwide fanbase.
'Flavor of the Weak' and a catalog of crunchy Y2K pop-rock — still flying the flannel, with the TRL-era hooks fully intact.
West Midlands duo pairing Black Country spoken word with drums and a preacher's howl — post-industrial frustration delivered as sermon.
Cork's melodica-toting indie romantics — Fontaines-adjacent and rising fast, with a windswept, literary streak all their own.
Atlanta pop-punk lifers — 'Chroma' still hits like 2005, a front-to-back scene classic that never needed a follow-up to justify the devotion.
Sci-fi concept-rock saga with arena hooks — 'Welcome Home' indeed, the Amory Wars mythology powering some of modern prog's biggest singalongs.
Southern rock grit on the Saturday bill.
Rising indie voice on the Saturday undercard.
Exactly what the name promises — feral undercard punk.
NYC's buzziest indie-dance trio — baggy house grooves with downtown cool, like Madchester relocated to a Chinatown basement.
black midi's frontman gone salsa-prog lounge-lizard — 'The New Sound' is deranged brilliance, virtuoso sleaze played with total commitment.
Gravel-and-honey soul-folk — 'Walk With Me' warmth, stomp-and-clap swells built for arms-around-strangers moments, gospel-warm and stadium-ready.
Athens dream-pop-rock duo with soaring piano bones — big-sky melodies from the college-rock capital, swelling choruses with dream-pop shimmer.
'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' — Aussie garage swagger, reunited, with enough riff-rock singles to keep the tank full.
Seattle's finger-tapping math-rock heroes, reunited — precision with a cocktail in hand, glassy tapping and grooves that sneak up dancing.
The treadmill-video geniuses — power pop with engineering-degree stagecraft, confetti physics included, and songs that hold up without the treadmills.
Perth duo — punchy, sunburnt indie rock in the great Australian garage tradition, mates-first energy and hooks to match.
Warm-hearted indie folk on the Sunday bill.
Perth psych mayhem — riffs like a waterslide through a lava lamp, prolific and twice as loud live.
Fuzzy garage-punk on the Saturday undercard.
Rum Jungle
Newcastle, Australia group dealing in loose, sun-warmed guitar pop — jangling hooks and easy harmonies with a coastal looseness to them.
Snarling young punk energy on the Sunday undercard.
Sultry, minimalist indie rock — 'Michelle' and a knack for menace, restraint used like a weapon.
The Songs for Kids Foundation showcase — kids the Atlanta nonprofit works with, on a real festival stage with the musicians who mentor them year-round.
The Songs for Kids Foundation showcase — kids the Atlanta nonprofit works with, on a real festival stage with the musicians who mentor them year-round.
Art-leaning indie rock on the Saturday bill.
Sunday Mourners
French farmer-rockers (literally — they raise geese) with a riff-heavy two-man wallop — sustainable agriculture and stadium riffs, one operation.
DFA dance-punk originators — 'House of Jealous Lovers' still detonates a field, cowbell and all, dance-punk history played live.
Atlanta indie-pop on the rise — bright hooks with local-scene momentum.
Villanelle
Yes, Dave's daughter — and a genuinely arresting voice striking her own path, closer to torch song than stadium rock.
The headliners
The Strokes — The band that rebooted New York rock — a deep catalog of deadpan cool, still untouchable live when the engine catches.
Twenty One Pilots — Genre-agnostic arena duo — rap, ukulele, and existential dread with a devoted Clique, lore deep enough for a wiki.
Gorillaz — Damon Albarn's animated universe — a genre-omnivorous hits machine and guest-star carousel, two decades of cartoon cover for some of pop's best songwriting.
Up-and-comers to catch early
Sir Chloe — Sultry, minimalist indie rock: 'Michelle' and a knack for menace.
Hotel Fiction — Athens dream-pop-rock duo with soaring piano bones.
Old Mervs — Perth duo: punchy, sunburnt indie rock.
The Two Lips — Atlanta indie-pop on the rise.
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets — Perth psych mayhem: riffs like a waterslide through a lava lamp.
Other acts worth planning around
Danny Elfman — Oingo Boingo's madman turned Burton's composer: a berserk orchestral-rock spectacle.
Wu-Tang Clan — The greatest rap crew ever assembled. Bring the ruckus to Piedmont Park.
LCD Soundsystem — The dance-punk philosopher kings. 'All My Friends' remains the great festival closer.
The Prodigy — Firestarters, still: the UK's rave-punk institution hits harder than bands half their age.
Pavement — The slacker-rock canon itself, crooked rain and all.
Minus the Bear — Seattle's finger-tapping math-rock heroes, reunited: precision with a cocktail in hand.
Geordie Greep — black midi's frontman gone salsa-prog lounge-lizard. The New Sound is deranged brilliance.
The lineup by day
Friday lineup (September 18)
The Strokes, Turnstile, Fontaines D.C., Geese, Danny Elfman, Hot Mulligan + 5 more
Friday set times (11 sets)
- Ben Howard · Piedmont
- Cartel · Ponce de Leon
- Hot Mulligan · Peachtree
- GoldFord · Criminal Records
- Geese · Piedmont
- Snow Strippers · Ponce de Leon
- Turnstile · Peachtree
- Alice Phoebe Lou · Criminal Records
- Fontaines D.C. · Piedmont
- Danny Elfman · Ponce de Leon
- The Strokes · Peachtree
Saturday lineup (September 19)
Twenty One Pilots, Pierce The Veil, The Prodigy, Pavement, Blood Orange, Peach Pit + 17 more
Saturday set times (24 sets)
- Songs For Kids · Peachtree
- Old Mervs · Piedmont
- Sophie's Body · Ponce de Leon
- The Inspector Cluzo · Peachtree
- Hotel Fiction · Criminal Records
- Villanelle · Piedmont
- Fat, Evil Children · Ponce de Leon
- Elio Mei · Peachtree
- Rum Jungle · Criminal Records
- Sir Chloe · Piedmont
- Rehash · Ponce de Leon
- The Rapture · Peachtree
- Geordie Greep · Criminal Records
- Minus the Bear · Piedmont
- Psychedelic Porn Crumpets · Ponce de Leon & Criminal Records
- Peach Pit · Peachtree
- Congress the Band · Criminal Records
- Blood Orange · Piedmont
- Taking Back Sunday · Ponce de Leon
- Pierce The Veil · Peachtree
- The Prodigy · Piedmont
- Pavement · Ponce de Leon
- Twenty One Pilots · Peachtree
Sunday lineup (September 20)
Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Wu-Tang Clan, Knocked Loose, Modest Mouse, Santigold + 14 more
Sunday set times (20 sets)
- Songs For Kids · Peachtree
- Showing Teeth · Ponce de Leon
- Sunday Mourners · Piedmont
- Cardinals · Peachtree
- Porch Light · Criminal Records
- The Two Lips · Ponce de Leon
- Violet Grohl · Piedmont
- Coheed and Cambria · Peachtree
- BIG SPECIAL · Criminal Records
- Jet · Piedmont
- OK Go · Ponce de Leon
- Santigold · Peachtree
- American Hi-Fi · Criminal Records
- Modest Mouse · Piedmont
- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony · Ponce de Leon
- Wu-Tang Clan · Peachtree
- Fcukers · Criminal Records
- LCD Soundsystem · Piedmont
- Knocked Loose · Ponce de Leon
- Gorillaz · Peachtree
Shaky Knees 2026 lineup FAQ
When is Shaky Knees 2026?
September 18–20, 2026, Friday through Sunday.
Where does Shaky Knees take place?
Piedmont Park, in the heart of Atlanta.
Who is headlining Shaky Knees 2026?
The Strokes, Gorillaz, and Twenty One Pilots.
How many acts are playing Shaky Knees 2026?
53 acts across three days: the most watchable-in-one-weekend bill of the big Southern festivals.
What days do specific acts play?
Every act's day is already on this page. Expand the full lineup below or check the day-by-day breakdown.
How do I figure out which of the 53 acts I'd actually like?
Tell the finder at the top of this page a few bands you love. It'll match you with your must-see sets, with reasons why.
Who plays Friday at Shaky Knees 2026?
Friday, September 18: The Strokes, Turnstile, Fontaines D.C., Geese, Danny Elfman, Hot Mulligan, plus 5 more acts.
Who plays Saturday at Shaky Knees 2026?
Saturday, September 19: Twenty One Pilots, Pierce The Veil, The Prodigy, Pavement, Blood Orange, Peach Pit, plus 17 more acts.
Who plays Sunday at Shaky Knees 2026?
Sunday, September 20: Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Wu-Tang Clan, Knocked Loose, Modest Mouse, Santigold, plus 14 more acts.
Are set times out for Shaky Knees 2026?
Yes. The full schedule is live: the day-by-day section on this page lists every act with its set time.
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