Best Music Festival

The SHAKY KNEES MUSIC FESTIVAL turned four years old last spring — old enough to have an iron grip on the Southeast’s festival scene, and young enough to keep things interesting. The brainchild of promoter Tim Sweetwood has grown steadily with each return, and this year’s move to Centennial Olympic Park took the edge off the heat with green grass, dirt, and mud (much more agreeable on the feet than concrete when you’re standing in the sun all day). Since the beginning, SK’s lineup has boasted something for the teen scene, indie aficionados, and dad rockers alike. But placing Jane’s Addiction performing Ritual De Lo Habitual alongside Huey Lewis and the News, Savages, Deftones, the Black Angels, and more surpassed the middle-of-the-road fare that drives such monolithic gatherings. There’s taste and vision on display in Shaky Knees’ lineup. It forces the competition to pick up the pace — even stage DIY counter fests (hello, Flaky Niece Fest) — and Atlanta’s summer music scene is made all the richer because of it. www.shakykneesfestival.com. less...

Arc the Finger Records once again brought the “true school” to The Loft for the A3C INDEPENDENT HIP-HOP FESTIVAL, the indie alternative to the big-name bling-and-bass hip-hop orthodoxy. MCs, DJs, graffiti artists and breakdancers performed, competed and discussed the craft and its politics. Smart and lots of fun.
www.arcthefinger.com.

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