By noon on Saturday, the sun was barely cutting through Atlanta’s dust and haze. A sea of denim jackets and battered Doc Martins were already pushing toward the front of the rail just to see My Chemical Romance’s set later that night. No Lasers – just guitars feeding back into an audience that truly wanted to feel something real. Atlanta knows how to throw a festival – but while most of the country is chasing EDM-heavy lineups and letting the algorithm choose who headlines, this 3-day festival in Central Park feels like a rebellion. It’s a sanctuary for people who feel like rock music still matters in 2025.

Photo by Emily (Mily) Ward @mily_media

Since 2013, Shaky Knees has been Atlanta’s indie rock pilgrimage. There’s no influencer jungle or confetti cannons trying to distract you from a laptop set. Instead, the festival is built on real bands, real fans, and real sound. This year – September 19-21, 2025 – the lineup is proof that guitars aren’t dead; they’re louder than ever.

While headliners like My Chemical Romance, Lenny Kravitz, and Deftones anchor the weekend, there was even more magic lower on the poster. Die Spitz unleashed a sludge-punk riot that had the pit going wild while Girl Tones brought sun-soaked Florida Garage pop with just the right amounts of sneer. Sure all of these bands are chasing streams but that’s not the main focus and it shows. They are chasing catharsis – and that’s the type of sound that brings people together. We ran into a couple who had driven all the way from Texas — empty nesters finally free to chase live music again. “We just needed to get out there,” they told us, smiling with that particular light that only live music seems to ignite. And that’s the thing: Shaky Knees isn’t just for Gen Z kids with Doc Martens and nostalgia tattoos. It’s a sanctuary for everyone — from first-time festgoers to lifers who grew up on these riffs.

Photo by Emily (Mily) Ward @mily_media

Modern festival lineups have started to look the same: a few massive pop or EDM names at the top, a handful of TikTok-famous DJs underneath, and then a sea of algorithm-friendly acts that sound like they were built for 15-second clips, not full-length sets. In 2025, it’s easy to feel like the soul has been traded for streams.

Shaky Knees refuses to play that game. This festival isn’t interested in chasing trends or building a weekend for Instagram. It’s building a weekend for people who want to stand shoulder to shoulder, sweat through their denim, and scream lyrics that were written with an actual guitar in hand. While so many events lean into spectacle — LED walls, viral dances, confetti — Shaky Knees doubled down on craft and community.

That’s why watching My Chemical Romance tear through a career-spanning set felt vital, not nostalgic. Why Deftones could hypnotize a field with raw distortion instead of TikTok dance hooks. Why an artist like Ecca Vandal could deliver an unpredictable, genre-bending show and win over an entire field of strangers who came to feel something real. And why Die Spitz, a DIY punk band still growing its name, could turn an afternoon slot into a sweaty, cathartic riot.

Photos by Emily (Mily) Ward @mily_media

This year’s lineup was a reminder that guitar music doesn’t need to be trendy to matter. It just needs to be alive — loud, imperfect, and honest.

The vibe was communal, sweaty, and alive in a way many festivals have lost. People weren’t standing around just to post about being there. They were there because the music meant something. In a festival landscape where so many events feel designed for Instagram first, Shaky Knees reminded us what happens when you build around a love for sound instead of spectacle. Rock may no longer dominate the charts, but this weekend was proof that it’s thriving in the places that matter most: sweaty crowds, soaring choruses, and strangers screaming the same words back at a band that gets them.

If the gospel of guitar music is still alive, its church is in Atlanta every September.