Photos & Review | Shaky Knees 2025 Day 2: My Chemical Romance, The Black Keys, and More Light Up Atlanta

Saturday: Heavy Hits and Heartfelt Cheers

By early Saturday afternoon, Piedmont Park was already alive with movement. The sun hung heavy over the skyline, and the air carried that mix of dust, grass, and anticipation that only comes on the second day of a festival. Fans made their way through the streets of Midtown Atlanta, eager for what was to come. Friday was going to be a tough act to follow, but Saturday was sure to bring its own brand of heavy riffs, melodic singalongs, and fans sprinting between stages to stake their spots for their favorite bands. From the photo pit, I could feel the energy and electricity in the air. Fueled by caffeine, adrenaline, and the collective excitement of thousands ready to do it all over again, I was more than ready for the day ahead.

Cage The Elephant at Shaky Knees Fest 2025 in Atlanta Ga

Cage The Elephant @ Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta GA | @deadly_sharp_photo

Every set had its own personality. Michigander brought heart and warmth that made even the early arriving crowd feel locked in right from the start. Radio Free Alice hit with grit and charm, all raw edges and sharp hooks. The Beaches and Girl Tones kept the momentum rolling with swagger, confidence, and a give no quarter attitude that screamed they were here to make a statement. Soft Play came out swinging with a sound that was beyond loud, defiant, and impossible to ignore. The All-American Rejects gave everyone a nostalgia rush, complete with mass singalongs and smiles that stretched across the huge crowd that they amassed at the Ponce-De-Leon stage . Cage the Elephant was chaos in motion—wild, unpredictable, magnetic and kept us guessing what might happen next. While The Black Keys brought a swaggering cool that closed out the run of sets perfectly. Each performance added its own layer to the day, building toward something bigger.

My Chemical Romance performing at Shaky Knees Festival 2025 in Atlanta Ga

Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance @ Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta GA | @deadly_sharp_photo

That “something bigger” was none other than My Chemical Romance. The set began with the kind of theatrical flair only MCR can pull off, introducing the crowd to Draag, the dictator of Keposhka, as a military procession filled the stage. Marianne, dressed in a long, flowing red gown, emerged to perform the national anthem of Draag—and we all knew what was coming next. Gerard Way and the band appeared on stage and launched straight into “The End.”

As this was my first time seeing MCR, I was completely taken aback by their performance. It was part rock show, part dystopian fever dream, and every bit as dramatic as you’d hope. From the pit, it felt larger than life—chaos, emotion, nostalgia, and art all crashing together under the night sky. The band tore through their set with purpose, each song feeling heavier and more unhinged than the last. The crowd screamed every lyric of “Welcome to the Black Parade” like scripture, feeding off the madness Gerard orchestrated.

It was pure sensory overload—lights, smoke, emotion, and the surreal realization that you were watching a band that still knows how to turn a stage into another world. My Chemical Romance played with the kind of intensity that made you forget where you were, and when the final note hit, the roar that followed said it all: My Chemical Romance had just owned Saturday night.