Moving locations is always a hassle for a festival, but Shaky Beats had nothing to worry about. With the success of its 2017 event, the Atlanta, Georgia festival made big moves for 2018 as it left behind Centennial Park for the larger Central Park, allowing them to expand to four large stages. But that’s not all that made this Shaky Beats stand out in the festival world. The vibes were unlike most festivals and the inclusivity of the event seemed to put everyone at ease. And that’s not even including the music.
The stage design was fantastic. Walking into the festival led you right to Peachtree, the main stage, which was an open area with a small baseball diamond in the back that made meeting up with friends incredibly easy. Piedmont, the second stage, was up a small hill towards the back of the main stage and featured many of the same design aspects. But even more impressive was the design of the back two stages. Ponce De Leon had the coolest visual designs of all four stages and the Criminal Records stage was tucked snugly in an area with trees, giving it a small, almost exclusive feel.
The musical highlights from the weekend were too many to count. On day one Ludacris threw down an intense hip-hop set, followed by some mind-blowing bass music from Minnesota and Dillon Francis hyping up the entire festival with his incredibly high-energy sets. The second day featured impressive g-house sets from The Him and Wolfgang Gartner as well as Shiba San closing out the Criminal Records stage in true tech funk style. Kygo ended day three and made an epic Avicii tribute while Dr. Fresch saved the day and played two sets to cover for YehMe2 who couldn’t attend due to an injury.
With an eclectic lineup, excellent festival design, and some of the most expansive and interested food options, there’s no doubt we’ll be back for next year’s Shaky Beats. If Atlanta continues to produce such quality music festivals we’re sure that the scene will keep expanding – and Shaky Beats is definitely part of the force driving that growth. If you missed this year’s festival, you can always start planning now for 2019!
