Another year, another Riot Fest. It’s the 10th anniversary of this unique festival, which started as a bunch of punk bands playing at a handful of Chicago venues. Since then, it’s moved outdoors to one central location, added a carnival, and expanded its lineup significantly. This year is the biggest Riot Fest ever, with 130+ bands across 7 stages being held in a new section of Humboldt Park that’s better equipped to accommodate everything. Coincidentally this is also the first year I’ll be covering Riot Fest on the site, though be forewarned it’s going to be in a very quick and dirty fashion. This festival was built on punk spirit, and I’m going to maintain that by not writing too much and taking more time to truly enjoy myself. With other festivals like Pitchfork and Lollapalooza I get a bit more in depth and run everywhere to see as much as possible. Now that the weather is starting to turn colder and the general excitement of summer has all but worn off, I’m going to take in everything as it comes my way. Hopefully it will be a blast.
The lineup for this year’s Riot Fest is the best one yet, and points towards a bright future if they want to continue in this same vein. When it was first announced, I claimed it was the best festival lineup I’d seen in 2014, and I’m willing to stand by that assertion. There’s going to be plenty of things to see and do, so here’s a quick look at the bands and time slots you should make a priority this weekend when you’re not playing carnival games and such: