Michigander shared a touching thread on r/shakyknees this week about going from festival fan to festival performer. The band — who first attended the festival in 2014 to see The National and Cage the Elephant — announced they’ll be back on the Shaky Knees big stage this weekend and called the moment “a dream come true.”
The post
The original Reddit post from user MichiganderBand is short and excited: they played Shaky Knees before, Tim invited them back, and after 11 years since that first fan experience they’re now the ones playing. The band wrote that they’re “firing on all cylinders” and can’t wait to play the big stage — signing off with a simple, on-the-ground promise: “See you Saturday.”
Fans chimed in
- Few-Ice-6356: “Jason! … ‘i’ll be ok’ was on heavy repeat for me .. sending big atlanta hugs and loud cheers from the crowd.”
- Mediocre-Wind-3241: “You’re one of my must sees, I’ll be there! Became a fan at Spooky Knees.”
- Tard_boio: “Never heard of y’all till I saw this. Just had a listen 😩”
- living_in_nuance: “Had never heard of you before, but had added you to my schedule when I was going through Spotify listens today.”
- SweetSweetCookies: “Yeah, I am STOKED for you all and can’t wait to cheer your set on. Congrats!!”
Across replies you can feel the loop closing — festival-goers who discovered the band at smaller events or through friends are now excited to see them up on the larger Shaky Knees stage.
Why this matters on the wire
Stories like Michigander’s are festival gold: artists who started as fans returning as performers feed that community energy that keeps lineups feeling personal. If you’re plotting sets for the weekend, add Michigander to your preview list — the thread is a quick reminder why discovery moments (and full-circle returns) are what make festivals like Shaky Knees feel special.
If you want to follow the original thread, check it out on Reddit: Michigander — “a dream come true”.