Chicago’s eclectic Riot Fest will commemorate its 20th anniversary this year with a lineup led by blink-182, Weezer and Green Day. The event will take place Sept. 19-21 at Douglass Park and includes big names from across the rock, punk, metal, hardcore and alternative universes, plus several left-field bookings.
The lineup will feature Jack White, IDLES, the Sex Pistols with vocalist Frank Carter, Alkaline Trio, Rilo Kiley, Jawbreaker, Bad Religion, Cobra Starship, the Hold Steady, Dropkick Murphys, the Damned, James and Sparks, plus the decidedly non-punk sounds of “Weird Al” Yankovic, Hanson and the Beach Boys.
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Among the indie favorites who will also be on hand are the freshly reunited Shudder to Think, Superchunk, Panchiko, Texas Is the Reason, Helmet, Agnostic Front, Ovlov, Smoking Popes, Buzzcocks, Camper Van Beethoven and Senses Fail.
“There’s a bunch of introverts out there, so I’m talking to the same audience as me,” Riot Fest co-founder Mike Petryshyn told SPIN in 2023. “Riot Fest is a festival that maybe I’d go to — maybe. I know our fans, because I’m one of them. I can tell when our stuff will get a positive response because we’re not manipulating them or pulling the wool over their eyes. We just do dumb shit and it relates to them because we think dumb shit is funny.”
“Bands know that they’re going to be playing to a welcoming audience, not a tough audience, so they bring their A-game,” he added. “I have heard some of the most brilliant sets here — Smashing Pumpkins being one of them. When the Replacements came back, there were grown men crying everywhere. How does that happen? Honestly, I just got lucky. I still feel like I don’t deserve it, but I know it’s authentic, and the bands know it’s authentic.”
Tickets for Riot Fest are available by clicking here.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
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