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.
From London, UK · Sounds like Blur, Tame Impala
Shaky Knees 2026 Lineup
Atlanta's rock festival in Piedmont Park — three days of guitars, from garage legends to hardcore's new kings.
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 (Jimmy Eat World, Knocked Loose, Taking Back Sunday) to keep every generation's neck sore. At 54 acts it's the most walkable of the big Southern festivals — you can actually see most of what you want.
Expect indie rock, rock, alt-rock and indie across 54 acts.
Shaky Knees 2026 lineup: all 54 acts
Search it, filter by day, stage or genre — save anything straight to your schedule.Browse all 54 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.
From New York, NY · Sounds like Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, The Voidz
Genre-agnostic arena duo — rap, ukulele, and existential dread with a devoted Clique, lore deep enough for a wiki.
From Columbus, OH · Sounds like Grandson, AJR, Panic! at the Disco, Waterparks
Moody English guitar-folk — from the campfire anthems of 'Every Kingdom' to gorgeous, murky experimentalism, following his own quiet obsessions rather than the charts.
From Devon, UK · Sounds like Bon Iver, Novo Amor
Dev Hynes's velvety art-R&B — '80s soul textures, jazz chords, and quiet heartbreak from one of pop's most sought-after collaborators.
From London / NYC · Sounds like Solange, Frank Ocean, Toro y Moi, Sampha
Melodic-rap architects — the first to make harmony singing and double-time flow one seamless thing, with 'Tha Crossroads' still landing like a hymn.
From Cleveland, OH · Sounds like Wu-Tang Clan, Twista
Oingo Boingo's madman turned Tim Burton's composer — a berserk orchestral-rock spectacle that mashes film scores into art-punk chaos.
From Los Angeles, CA · Sounds like Oingo Boingo, Nine Inch Nails, Mr. Bungle, Tim Burton scores
Dublin's poet-punks grown into arena-scale alt-rock — 'Romance' made them era-defining, swagger and melancholy in equal Irish measure.
From Dublin, IE · Sounds like IDLES, The Murder Capital, Wunderhorse
Unhinged Brooklyn art-rock — yelping, swaggering, and critically adored, like the Stones reassembled by art students mid-fever.
From Brooklyn, NY · Sounds like Black Midi, Wet Leg, Parquet Courts, King Krule
Midwest emo's chaotic favorites — screamed choruses, absurd song titles, real feelings, and a crowd that knows every word including the yelps.
From Lansing, MI · Sounds like Origami Angel, The Wonder Years, Free Throw, Prince Daddy & The Hyena
The emo band that became a permanent radio fixture — enormous choruses delivered with total earnestness, decade after decade without a dip.
From Mesa, AZ · Sounds like The Get Up Kids, Motion City Soundtrack, Death Cab for Cutie, Saves the Day
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.
From Oldham County, KY · Sounds like Terror, Code Orange, Harm's Way, Vein.fm
The dance-punk philosopher kings — 'All My Friends' remains the great festival closer, and James Murphy its most self-aware master of ceremonies.
From New York, NY · Sounds like The Rapture, Talking Heads
Isaac Brock's jittery, seasick guitar songs about the highway and the void — three decades of them, still unmistakable from the first yelp.
From Issaquah, WA · Sounds like Built to Spill, Pixies, Cursive, The Shins
The slacker-rock canon itself — crooked rain and all, reunion sets played with the same shrug that made them legends.
From Stockton, CA · Sounds like Guided by Voices, Silver Jews
Chewed-bubblegum indie pop — jangly, wry, effortlessly likable, with more guitar firepower live than the records suggest.
From Vancouver, BC · Sounds like Mac DeMarco, Wallows
San Diego post-hardcore romantics enjoying a massive TikTok-era second act — the scene's most swooned-over comeback.
From San Diego, CA · Sounds like Sleeping With Sirens, A Day To Remember, Dance Gavin Dance, Bring Me The Horizon
Genre-collapsing alt-pop pioneer — 'L.E.S. Artistes' to now, always ahead, new wave and dancehall in one voice.
From Philadelphia, PA · Sounds like M.I.A., TV on the Radio
Lo-fi electroclash duo — distorted synths and detached vocals for the afterparty, Detroit cool for the post-everything generation.
From Detroit, MI · Sounds like Crystal Castles, 2hollis
Long Island emo royalty — mic-swinging catharsis, twenty-plus years deep, 'MakeDamnSure' still a communal throat-shred, and yes, the mic still swings.
From Long Island, NY · Sounds like Brand New, The Used, Straylight Run, Senses Fail
Firestarters, still — the UK's rave-punk institution hits harder than bands half their age, three decades of menace intact.
From Essex, UK · Sounds like The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Pendulum, Atari Teenage Riot
Hardcore's joyful crossover kings — dreamy interludes, stage dives, total communion, and a crowd that moves as one.
From Baltimore, MD · Sounds like Scowl, Militarie Gun, Trapped Under Ice, Fugazi
Nine MCs over dusty kung-fu-flick soul loops — still the most-imitated blueprint in rap, '36 Chambers' eternal.
From Staten Island, NY · Sounds like Nas, Mobb Deep, Public Enemy, GZA
Berlin-via-Cape Town dream-folk — honeyed, unhurried songs that grew from street-performance beginnings into a quietly devoted worldwide fanbase.
From Cape Town, ZA · Sounds like Angel Olsen, Aldous Harding, Faye Webster, Weyes Blood
'Flavor of the Weak' and a catalog of crunchy Y2K pop-rock — still flying the flannel, with the TRL-era hooks fully intact.
From Boston, MA · Sounds like Bowling For Soup, SR-71
BIG SPECIAL
Sounds like Sleaford Mods, IDLES, Sprints
Cork's melodica-toting indie romantics — Fontaines-adjacent and rising fast, with a windswept, literary streak all their own.
From Cork, IE · Sounds like The Murder Capital, Just Mustard
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.
From Atlanta, GA · Sounds like The Starting Line, Mayday Parade, Motion City Soundtrack, Boys Like Girls
Sci-fi concept-rock saga with arena hooks — 'Welcome Home' indeed, the Amory Wars mythology powering some of modern prog's biggest singalongs.
From Nyack, NY · Sounds like The Mars Volta, Thank You Scientist, Circa Survive, Rush
Southern rock grit on the Saturday bill.
Sounds like Blackberry Smoke, Whiskey Myers, The Marcus King Band
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.
From New York, NY · Sounds like Confidence Man, Jamie xx, Primal Scream
Scuzzy internet-age alt-pop.
black midi's frontman gone salsa-prog lounge-lizard — 'The New Sound' is deranged brilliance, virtuoso sleaze played with total commitment.
From London, UK · Sounds like black midi, Frank Zappa
Gravel-and-honey soul-folk — 'Walk With Me' warmth, stomp-and-clap swells built for arms-around-strangers moments, gospel-warm and stadium-ready.
From Las Vegas, NV · Sounds like Hozier, Leon Bridges
Athens dream-pop-rock duo with soaring piano bones — big-sky melodies from the college-rock capital, swelling choruses with dream-pop shimmer.
From Athens, GA · Sounds like flipturn, The Backseat Lovers
'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' — Aussie garage swagger, reunited, with enough riff-rock singles to keep the tank full.
From Melbourne, AU · Sounds like The Vines, Wolfmother
Seattle's finger-tapping math-rock heroes, reunited — precision with a cocktail in hand, glassy tapping and grooves that sneak up dancing.
From Seattle, WA · Sounds like American Football, Foals
The treadmill-video geniuses — power pop with engineering-degree stagecraft, confetti physics included, and songs that hold up without the treadmills.
From Chicago, IL · Sounds like Weezer, They Might Be Giants
Perth duo — punchy, sunburnt indie rock in the great Australian garage tradition, mates-first energy and hooks to match.
From Perth, AU · Sounds like Spacey Jane, Hockey Dad
Warm-hearted indie folk on the Sunday bill.
Sounds like The Head and the Heart, Gregory Alan Isakov, Fleet Foxes
Perth psych mayhem — riffs like a waterslide through a lava lamp, prolific and twice as loud live.
From Perth, AU · Sounds like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Osees
Fuzzy garage-punk on the Saturday undercard.
Sounds like FIDLAR, Wavves, Ty Segall
Rum Jungle
Snarling young punk energy on the Sunday undercard.
Sultry, minimalist indie rock — 'Michelle' and a knack for menace, restraint used like a weapon.
From Vermont · Sounds like Wet Leg, Momma
The Songs for Kids Foundation's all-star showcase — Atlanta's musicians playing for the kids they serve, and the feel-good set of the weekend.
From Atlanta, GA
Art-leaning indie rock on the Saturday bill.
French farmer-rockers (literally — they raise geese) with a riff-heavy two-man wallop — sustainable agriculture and stadium riffs, one operation.
From Gascony, FR · Sounds like Royal Blood, Clutch
DFA dance-punk originators — 'House of Jealous Lovers' still detonates a field, cowbell and all, dance-punk history played live.
From New York, NY · Sounds like LCD Soundsystem, !!!
Atlanta indie-pop on the rise — bright hooks with local-scene momentum.
From Atlanta, GA
Villanelle
Yes, Dave's daughter — and a genuinely arresting voice striking her own path, closer to torch song than stadium rock.
From Los Angeles, CA · Sounds like Wolf Alice, Phoebe Bridgers
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.
- garbagebarbie — Scuzzy internet-age alt-pop.
- 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, September 18: The Strokes, Turnstile, Fontaines D.C., Geese, Danny Elfman, Hot Mulligan + 5 more
- Saturday, September 19: Twenty One Pilots, Pierce The Veil, The Prodigy, Pavement, Jimmy Eat World, Blood Orange + 17 more
- Sunday, September 20: Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Wu-Tang Clan, Knocked Loose, Modest Mouse, Santigold + 14 more
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?
54 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 54 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.
Going to Shaky Knees 2026? Get tickets ↗
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