Riot Fest 2024

Review by Morgan Clifton with photos by Roman Sobus

Riot Fest made its return to Douglass Park in Chicago, September 20th, 21stt, and 22nd. The 3-day festival is in its 17th year and is one of the biggest independently owned music festivals in the United States. More than 90 bands play the festival across the three days, including those that are new to the music scene, up and coming, and those that have been around for more than 30 years.

Riot Fest brings out a crowd of all ages, including small children that are joining their parents to watch bands their parents grew up listening to. Concert goers let their personalities shine at the festival with their eclectic outfits, minimal clothes, and costumes. This year's festival had a delayed announcement due to some difficulties in securing Douglass Park in a timely manner, which ultimately ended up with a decision to move the festival to Seat Geek Stadium in Bridgeview. With the announcement of the festival's new home came the announcement of Riot Land. Shortly after the festival's announcement Riot Fest and the City of Chicago were able to come to an agreement and get the necessary permits to keep the festival at Douglass Park. Making the move to Douglass Park with Riot Fest was Riot Land.

Riot Land was a small area of random buildings including a church, convenience store, and Riot Fest Museum, all ruled by a large butter statue of John Stamos. New to Riot Fest and Riot Land this year was an NWA wrestling ring and a burlesque show.

Day 1 of Riot Fest brought sunny skies and a large crowd excited to start their weekend full of music. The fest kicked off with it's first band at noon and fans were all ears. Coming out of the gate strong on it's first day, Riot Fest brought out a lot of heavy hitters. Punk rock veterans Hot Mulligan, Face to Face, and The Lawrence Arms got the crowd warmed up for what would be a night full of historical performances.

Sum 41 played to a large crowd of fans getting one last chance to see the band on their final tour before they disband. Playing all the songs that made them popular, the fans made sure to give them a reason to keep the band together. The festival is not only for the punk rockers, hip hop groups Cypress Hill and Public Enemy kept the party going before the main headliners hit the stages.

Riot Fest is known for getting bands to play full albums and this year was no different. The Offspring played their album "Smash" as part of the albums 30th Anniversary. Hometown band Fall Out Boy closed out the night on the Cabaret Metro Stage while, NOFX played their first of three nights on their own stage, and The Marley Brothers closed the night on the Rise Stage. Chicago showed their love for their local boys as they sang every word to every song, including the deep cuts. The crowd got a huge surprise when another Chicago musician made a special appearance. Rise Against' s Tim McIlrath joined Fall Out Boy during 'Sugar We're Goin' Down.' As the night came to an end, fans left with so much energy and were ready to rest up for what would be another great day of music.

Day 2 brought with it the final 90 degree day of the year and many more hours of music. Kicking off the events on the NOFX stage was Urethane, a band formed in 2021 during the pandemic. Other bands getting an early start to the day were Lord of the Lost, a German rock band and Princess Goes. Princess Goes frontman, Michael C Hall, yes the same Michael C Hall that plays Dexter Morgan in the series "Dexter," gave a performance reminiscent of Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails.

Swedish rock band, The Hives, gave an entertaining and energetic performance on the Metro Cabaret Stage that would later be the stage for St. Vincent and close out with Beck. Another Chicago Band, Sincere Engineer, drew a crowd, including a corn dog circle pit at the Rise Stage that would be the festival home for Taking Back Sunday.

As part of NOFX's final farewell tour, NOFX played to a large crowd for their second night on the own stage. To keep fans coming back for more, NOFX played a different set of songs from their 40+ year career. As fans filed out to find their way to their beds and Advil, they looked forward to what was to come on the third and final day.

The final day of the festival got a late start due to the rain that invaded the area. It wouldn't be Riot Fest if there wasn't at least one day of rain and mud, right? Even with the festival getting a late start, there were not band cancelations, and the fans showed up in their ponchos and rain boots ready for another day of music.

The Cabaret Metro stage brought a day of heavy rock with bands like Gel, Mastodon, and Lamb of God before the headliner Slayer! Slayer was the first band to be announced as part of the 2024 Riot Fest lineup, playing their first live show in 5 years and being one of the final bands of the 3-day festival. Strung Out, a punk rock band formed in 1989 took to the NOFX stage to perform a non-stop set while a mud fight took place in the pit.

The AAA Stage brought out Riot Fest veterans, Gwar before later being where Rob Zombie would entertain the masses with his heavy rock sound. Over on the Rise Stage, hip-hop artist Tierra Whack performed for a crowd mostly made up of punk rockers. While Riot Fest leans heavily on punk and rock music, the festival is known to bring together artists from all genres allowing fans with various musical tastes to enjoy the festival. The AAA Stage would later be the home of Sublime, fronted by Jakob Nowell, the son of the late Bradley Nowell. Bradley was a founding member of Sublime in 1988 and it is eerie how much Jakob sounds like his dad. Something Corporate made their second Chicago appearance after a 20 year break, on the Radical Stage.

Another thing Riot Fest is known for is it's ability to get reunited bands to play their festival. While Something Corporate played to a packed crowd, a couple got married while the band performed 'Straw Dog,' bringing tears to guitarist William Tell's eyes. If you know this couple, please reach out to Something Corporate on Instagram, the band is looking for them. The 3-day festival ended with NOFX playing their final show of the 3-night stand on the NOFX stage, while Slayer melted the faces of a packed crowd. Fans left the final night prepared to go back to their day jobs after a weekend full of music. To quote Riot Fest, "Don't cry because it's over, cry because it happened. See you next year!"

Check out Roman Sobus photos from all three days below!
Day 1 Photos