Words and Photos by Kae Cox
After wrapping The Clancy Tour: Breach in late 2025, Twenty One Pilots seemed ready for a well-earned break, “other than maybe some festivals next year,” as singer Tyler Joseph put it. That “maybe” turned out to be doing a lot of work. In 2026, the band has played more than 21 festivals across North America, South America, and Europe. When their run reached Atlanta’s Shaky Knees in September, I was ready to see them at my first music festival ever.
My day at Piedmont Park started promptly at 9 am. The gates did not open until 11:30, but a huge crowd had already gathered around the South Entrance. Shortly before 10:00, security told everyone to “walk” to the gates. Obviously, this did not happen. I had no interest in getting run over by a stampede, so my partner and I let everyone go ahead and joined in the back of one of the many entry lanes. When 11:30 finally came, I made my “run” for the right-side barricade of the Peachtree stage (I jogged).
A handful of sets later, including a wonderful set from Peach Pit (on the Peachtree stage no less!) Twenty One Pilots were just a few hours away. We had survived a full day of direct sun and heat indexes over 100 degrees. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was just getting started. First, the screens beside the stage warned of “weather in the area.” Then: “Lightning in the area. For safety, the show has been temporarily paused.” Scary, but it was only 7:00PM, so there was plenty of time for the storm to pass. Less than 10 minutes later, the screens had a new message: “Severe weather is approaching, bringing destructive high winds and dangerous lightning. Calmly evacuate.”
Nobody in the pit budged. After baking in the sun for eight hours, they did not want to give up our spots. Neither did I. Security had to walk onstage and confirm the news before my partner and I finally slipped out the emergency exit. We ran up the street and ducked under a local business’ awning. The light sprinkle of rain turned into a full-on downpour. We sat there with a bunch of other disappointed fans, with no idea whether the show would go on later or if the festival was over.
After several laps around the park, piercing together scraps of information from other festival-goers and staff, we finally got an answer from the Shaky Knees instagram. Doors would reopen at 9:20, and because of the delay, Twenty One Pilots would be the only remaining performance of the night. The once grassy, slightly dusty field we came back to was now entirely mud. This time, I actually ran to the stage. My shoes were ruined by the time I reached the barricade, but my partner and I ended up with an even better view than before!
Around 10 pm, the blue stage lights finally cut to black, and a deafening cheer rose from the crowd. A red glow washed over the stage, and for a moment, everything hung in anticipation. Snippets of “The Contract” rang through the speakers over a heavy synth chord. Then the screens flickered to life as the intro to “Overcompensate” kicked in. A low voice booms out “Welcome back to Trench.” The lights found drummer Josh Dun, his silhouette sharp against the wall, while backing vocals stretched out the song’s melody. Without warning, singer Tyler Joseph sprinted out from backstage, leapt off his piano, and snatched a glowing microphone out of the midair as flames erupted around him. Just like that, tens of thousands of rained-out, mud-covered fans were jumping up and down and screaming every word.
Next came “The Contract.” In the middle of the song, Tyler climbed onto a platform held up by the crowd on the right side. I can feel detached from a band when they’re up on a big stage, sometimes so far away I have to look at the screens to see what’s really going on. But with Twenty One Pilots, I was watching the singer rap 50 feet in front of me. It’s one of the many ways this band really breaks down the barrier between themselves and their audience.
The third song of the night was one I’d never seen live, and it lived up to every expectation. “Center Mass,” in my opinion, is one of the band’s most lyrically vulnerable tracks, and they performed it that way. During the breakdown, Tyler knelt on the stage and poured everything into vocals as Josh drummed furiously next to him. From there, they moved through a mix of new and old songs. “Next Semester,” another incredibly emotional one, was a highlight for me. During “Drum Show,” Josh took over vocals for the bridge, and his deeper voice is such a welcome contrast to Tyler’s. For “RAWFEAR,” Tyler headed back into the crowd. He walked along the barricade, taking and wearing sunglasses from fans, and then climbed on top of the audience again, this time in front of the glowing “SHAKY KNEES” sign. To wrap up the set, they played two of their biggest hits, “Ride” and “Stressed Out,” with “Tally,” a newer song from Breach, in between.
Still, I think the best part of a Twenty One Pilots show is the ending. Every concert closes with “Trees.” Before it began, Tyler gave a sweet speech about everyone coming back out to see them despite all of the difficulties. In the song’s final moments, Tyler and Josh perform on top of the people on the barricade, drumming side by side. Usually, the finale comes with a burst of confetti. This time, fireworks lit up the sky over Piedmont Park instead. Now while I can’t say for sure if this is true, I heard later that the band had fought tooth and nail to make sure their set still happened. After everything the crowd endured that day, it meant a lot to know they likely wanted to be there just as much as we did. My first music festival definitely didn’t go the way I planned, but I still wouldn’t trade it for anything. I can’t say the same for my shoes.
