Festival Spotlight ::: Shaky Knees Festival Sunday

The last day of a festival is always bittersweet. Having a quality lineup to close out the weekend helps to swallow the pill. So far it's been a great time at Atlantic Station! We've met people from all over enjoying this wonderfully put together Shaky Knees Festival. Minnesota, Houston, Seattle, Montreal, it's safe to say this lineup drew from all over.

Ponce de Leon Stage
12:45p-1:30p
Paperbird  

Another hidden gem at the beginning of the day, Paperbird puts on a great show with their harmonizing and have a topnotch rapport with the crowd. We were lucky enough to catch them open for He's My Brother, She's My Sister last spring. Since the band's formation in 2007, Paper Bird has been playing its joyful blend of indie folk, blue-eyed soul, and rock to delighted audiences nationwide. The current lineup includes Mark Anderson (drums), Sarah Anderson (vocals, trumpet), Paul DeHaven (guitar), Esme Patterson (vocals), Genevieve Patterson (vocals), and Caleb Summeril (banjo, guitar, bass). Everyone writes for the group, and there is no leader. Paper Bird’s live performances showcase the group’s diversity and good-time vibe. Their rare and beautiful approach to music has led them to be featured on NPR's All Things Considered, in a New York Times story about up and coming Denver bands, and most recently listed in Paste Magazine's Top 10 Colorado Bands to Watch. 


Peachtree Stage
1:30p-2:15
San Fermin

 San Fermin is the work of Brooklyn composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. After finishing his musical studies at Yale, Ludwig-Leone wrote the album in six weeks while holed up in a studio on the mountainous border between Alberta and British Columbia. He focused on lifeʼs top-shelf issues – youth, nostalgia, anxiety, unrequited love – and tied these vast themes to different characters through vocal contributions from longtime friend Allen Tate, as well as Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius.

San Fermin is not an album of singles but rather a sweeping, full-bodied listen with multiple distinct peaks and ambitious thematic connections. Ludwig-Leone composed all of the album’s arrangements and lyrics in full prior to collaborating and recording, noting that “writing for a large group of unknown musicians infused the writing process with a kind of operatic scope.” This eight piece baroque pop group hails is composed of Charlene Kaye (vocals), Rebekah Durham vocals/violin), John Brandon (trumpet), Stephen Chen (saxophone), Ellis Ludwig-Leone (keyboard), Tyler McDiarmid (guitar), Mike Hanf (drums)

Piedmont Stage
2:15p-3:00p
Langhorne Slim & the Law

Langhorne Slim is an American singer-songwriter, (born Sean Scolnick on August 20, 1980 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania). Scolnick attended high school at Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, part of the SUNY system. Langhorne Slim and The Law is Langhorne Slim on vocals and guitar, Malachi DeLorenzo on drums, David Moore on banjo and keyboard, and Jeff Ratner on bass.

Peachtree Stage
3:00p-3:45p
Deer Tick

Deer Tick is an American alternative rock band from Providence, Rhode Island composed of singer-songwriter John McCauley, guitarist Ian O'Neil, bassist Chris Ryan, drummer Dennis Ryan and keyboard player Rob Crowell.

The band's music has been described as rock with folk, blues, and country influences, although the band actively rebel against the country tag, stating "We’re proud not to sing with a twang". The band regularly perform cover versions in their live sets, including songs by the likes of The Replacements, Nirvana, John Prine, Hank Williams, Warren Zevon and Sonny West. They have also performed entire sets as Deervana, a Nirvana tribute band including a show in September 2013 to mark the 20th anniversary of the band's third album In Utero.

McCauley explained that inspiration for the name Deer Tick came whilst hiking in the Morgan–Monroe State Forest near Bloomington, Indiana in Summer 2005, where he found a deer tick on his scalp one evening having never come into contact with one before, despite having frequently gone camping and fishing as a child. He claimed he was unaware of the bands Deerhoof and Deerhunter until after he had named his band.

Ponce de Leon Stage
3:45p-4:45p
Blitzen Trapper

The weekend schedule has been tough to navigate, but any quality lineup is. The 3:45p time slot is a tricky one, Blitzen Trapper vs. Jason Isbell. Some how Blitzen Trapper has eluded me since first hearing them nearly 5 years ago. On the other hand Jason Isbell gets glowing reviews from those who aren't even into his style of music. It may be a game time decision or a coin flip before we truly decide. One key picking may be that Jason Isbell frequents Atlanta more often.
Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country/folk band associated with Sub Pop Records, Vagrant Records and Lojinx. Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a quintet, with Eric Earley (guitar/harmonica/vocals/keyboard), Erik Menteer (guitar/keyboard), Brian Adrian Koch (drums/vocals/harmonica), Michael Van Pelt (bass), and Marty Marquis (guitar/keyboards/vocals/melodica). Blitzen Trapper self-released its first three albums. "Wild Mountain Nation" was No. 98 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.


Peachtree Stage
4:45p-5:45p
Iron & Wine

Iron & Wine is an artist I'm very interested to see again. The last time I caught them it was for an episode of Austin City Limits that was filmed at the Buckhead Theatre, before playing his regular show the next night. The setlist was quite out there and he seemed absent. 

Samuel Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage and recording name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released five studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). He occasionally tours with a full band.

Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Virginia and then Florida to attend school. He now resides in Dripping Springs, Texas, near Austin. The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film.

Piedmont Stage
5:45p-6:45p
Trampled by Turtles

Trampled By Turtles is an American band from Duluth, Minnesota. The band members have referenced inspirations such as Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Nirvana and Ralph Stanley.

“There is something generous about the way they play. They make room for each other, they serve the song, yet at times seem to ride the chaotic edge of stringed oblivion. It is the sound of joy; the kind of joy that the truth gives you, even when it's a hard thing to hear.” - Alan Sparhawk, Producer
The Pixie covering five-piece band consists of Dave Simonett (guitar/lead vocals), Tim Saxhaug (bass/harmony vocals), Dave Carroll (banjo, harmony vocals), Erik Berry (mandolin), and Ryan Young (fiddle/harmony vocals).

Peachtree Stage
6:45p-7:45p
Local Natives

THE live band from 2013, we see no reason a change in calendar year should change anything. Local Natives is an indie rock band based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California. After the three founding members originally met in high school, a bassist and a drummer were found, and they all moved to a house in Silver Lake in 2008 to record their album. Their debut album as Local Natives, “Gorilla Manor”, was released in the UK on Nov 2nd, 2009, and saw a US release date of Feb. 16th, 2010.The band’s sound has been described as “afropop-influenced guitars with hyperactive drumming and hooky three-part harmonies”. They started to attract the attention of the music press after playing nine shows at the 2009 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Initial reviews of Local Natives have drawn favourable comparisons to Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend. 

Utilizing lots of vocal harmonies and drifting, dreamlike melodies, Local Natives have an intricate sound based around the delicate interconnectedness of all of their parts. This gives the band a sound that is able to be orchestral while still feeling understated, evoking the carefully assembled pop of Grizzly Bear. Their debut, Gorilla Manor, arrived in 2009 through U.K. label Infectious Records (with a domestic release coming by way of Frenchkiss in 2010). In 2011, Andy Hamm left Local Natives, leaving them to continue on as a quartet. In 2013, the band returned with its sophomore album, Hummingbird, featuring the single “Breakers.”

Piedmont Stage
7:45p-9:00p
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Head to the Piedmont Stage by 7:45p to catch a Grammy Award winning composer. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros should win a grammy for their amazing live performances that leave audiences with mouths agape. 
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros formed in 2007 after singer Alex Ebert met fellow singer Jade Castrinos outside of Little Pedro’s in downtown Los Angeles. In 2009 the 10-member troupe released their debut album, Up From Below, which featured the hit “Home” as well as fan favorites “40 Day Dream” and “Janglin”. The band has spent the past few years touring the world while winning over audiences at festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Leeds, Austin City Limits and more. Their follow up album, Here, was released in May 2012 and featured the tracks “Man On Fire” and “That’s What’s Up.”  The album debuted at #1 on the Independent Music Chart and #5 on Billboard Top 200 Chart the week after its release. Relix Magazine hailed it as “an album full of undeniable folk-rock hooks, gospel overtones, infectious lyrics, orchestral swells and a whole lot of love.” Entertainment Weekly declared, “…they’ve got so much heart, they can crush hipster irony with one squeeze of the accordion.” The album was listed at number seven on Rolling Stone’s “Best Albums of 2012″ List.

If you sought comparisons for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros forthcoming self-titled album, you would hear the soulfulness of The Supremes’ ‘Where Did Our Love Go’, the raw exuberant pop of The Beatles ‘Yellow Submarine’ and the psychedelic echoes of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Surrealistic Pillow’. But at its roots, the album shows a band evolved and hopeful for the future.
 Peachtree Stage

9:10p-10:30p
Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes had as meteoric of a rise as any band in recent memory in 2012. Once 'Hold On' ripped through airwaves they had America's attention.

The story of the Alabama Shakes begins in a high school psychology class in Athens, Alabama. Brittany Howard, who had started playing guitar a few years earlier, approached Zac Cockrell and asked if he wanted to try making music together. "I just knew that he played bass and that he wore shirts with cool bands on them that nobody had heard of," says Howard.
They started to meet up after school and write songs sitting on Howard's floor. "It had that rootsy feel, but there was some out-there stuff," says Cockrell. "David Bowie-style things, prog-rock, lots of different stuff. We started to come across our own sound a little bit, though it's evolved a lot since then."
Steve Johnson worked at the only music store in town, and Howard knew he played the drums. She invited him to a party where, she says, "he met everybody from our side of the tracks." The three young musicians began working together, further expanding their style and approach. "Steve is kind of a punk-metal drummer," says Howard, "so we embraced that edge he brings to everything he does."
he trio soon went into a studio in Decatur to record some of the songs they were working up, and this proto-demo found its way into the hands of Heath Fogg, with whom Howard had been familiar because he had been the lead guitarist in what she describes as "the best band in our high school." Fogg, who by now had graduated from college, asked them to open a show for his band, which they agreed to do—on the condition that he play with them. The response was immediate: "That first show was really explosive," says Howard.”