Riot Fest 2022 must-have sets: punk, hip-hop, rock, metal punctuate the annual music festival
Few festivals in America do it quite like Riot Fest. The utterly local and forever independent event started in Chicago in 2005 and continues to be run by fans, for fans. It’s the only place you can show up, get married in an on-site wedding chapel if you wish, take a victory lap on a Ferris wheel and experience the best of punk, hip-hop, rock, metal and GWAR before the sun goes down.
This year is no different with an assortment of talent ranging from The Original Misfits to Coolio – not to mention all the after-show twilights. Make a schedule based on our top 10 picks below – or just grab a can of Riot Fest Sucks Pale Ale when you arrive at Douglass Park to figure out the day by day. For the third year in a row, the festival is partnering with Goose Island for specialty beer with a tear-off label that shows the day’s full schedule in the palm of your hands.
LS Dunes
Riot Fest has given us plenty of goodies over the years (that John Stamos butter sculpture, GWAR’s return every year, the most outrageous Twitter account to get us through the other 11 months). But wanting the cosmos to form a supergroup just weeks before kickoff — that’s a serious superpower now. Announced on August 26 and officially making its Riot debut, LS Dunes features guitarist Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance, headliner that night), guitarist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) , vocalist Anthony Green (Circa Survive), bassist Tim Payne (Thursday) and drummer Tucker Rule (Thursday/Yellowcard)…that’s the perfect combination. (1 p.m. Friday, Rise Stage)
Foxy Shazam
Stick around after LS Dunes for these seriously underrated retro glam rockers on the same stage. Listening to tracks like the gloriously over-the-top “Oh Lord” will have you wondering how this band never got bigger (also not helped by an unfortunate six-year hiatus from 2014-2020). They fit right into the rock revivalism movement like contemporaries The Darkness with a British Invasion tribute platter, Motown harmonies, Queen and Meat Loaf-esque rock operas and a vocalist who is simply Freddie Mercury reincarnated. . Seeing them live is nothing short of an experience. (2 p.m. Friday, Rise Stage)
Bob Vylan
A silver lining of the past chaotic years: Bad times can make for great punk music. Ask Bob Vylan. Besides the fact that the grimy British duo (born in 2017) may have one of the best band names of all time, their amped-up rants like “We Live Here” are some of the biggest new tunes of the past decade. . Tackling racism, police brutality, class warfare and other societal ills through face-to-face lyrics and electro-fueled punk fury, they carry the torch of Rage, Fever 333 and The Clash. (4:15 p.m. Friday, Rebel Stage)
TO FEAR
Saturday is an East Coast vs. West Coast battle – hardcore, that is. Two of the greatest examples of each (FEAR from LA and Madball from NYC) appear that day. Luckily, they don’t hit the stage at the same time, so you can grab them both and live to tell the tale – if you can make it out of the pits unscathed. FEAR’s set will be one of the very special pieces on Riot’s full album as the band tear up every track of their 1982 classic debut “The Record” in honor of its 40th anniversary (at around the same time). when bassist Flea was in the band), and rightly so when it was an album that shaped an entire music scene. (2:50 p.m. Saturday, Riot Stage)
Gogol Bordello
The eclectic gypsy punk rockers return in 2022 after a showdown last year. They’re one of the newest additions to the lineup after a few snafus and personal issues derailed Placebo and Bauhaus appearances, but Gogol’s set comes at an opportune time. The eight-piece band’s new album, “Solidaritine,” is out September 16, and they’ve just returned from a top-secret performance for the Ukrainian military. Singer Eugene Hutz was born in Kyiv and has coordinated a number of benefit and conflict awareness shows, and will likely use this platform to get this message across. (7:25 p.m. Saturday, Roots Stage)
The original misfits
The horror punk band’s biggest shock comes as the members of OG continue their sporadic reunions (first seen at Riot Fest 2016) and play their incredible debut album “Walk Among Us” in full this weekend. . Making a deal with Danzig and Doyle to do this may have cost the festival organizers even more than dealing with the devil himself. But the crowd will be truly grateful for the sacrifice as they watch the founders along with fellow classic member Jerry Only as well as Dave Lombardo and Acey Slade rip “Mommy Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?” and “Night of the Living Dead” for the album’s 40th anniversary. (8:30 p.m. Saturday, Riot Stage)
The Lindas Lindas
They’re not even out of high school yet, but the Linda Lindas have a career few can achieve. After opening for Bikini Kill, being commissioned for Amy Poehler’s soundtrack and signing with Epitaph in the span of two years, the four punk rockers wowed at the Pitchfork Music Festival this summer and made their way to the Riotfest this weekend. After writing their first song in response to a classmate’s racist comment during the COVID outbreak, they’re now hailed by Pollstar as ‘bringing punk rock to a new generation’ – but believe they’re thrilling also older punks. (1 p.m. Sunday, Roots Stage)
Coolio
Riot Fest organizers have been known to throw a good curveball once in a while, and it was kind of seen coming when the rapper was added to the lineup on July 19. Best known for his savage 1995 hit “Gangsta’s Paradise” (which has found renewed attention lately in movies and TV spots), Coolio last made headlines as a running mate. presidency in 2020 alongside presidential hopeful and former porn star Cherie DeVille. Hoping that Riot marks its return to music. (4 p.m. Sunday, Rise Stage)
Yeah yeah yeah
There was a time when a strong wave of New York indie rock dominated the music industry, led by bands like The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The latter was an artistic approach to garage rock spearheaded by the formidable Karen O, who became as much a cultural icon as her predecessor Debbie Harry, while tracks like “Gold Lion”, “Heads Will Roll” and “Maps” defined the time. And then the trio left in 2014. They’ve since reappeared and will release ‘Cool It Down’ this month, their first new album in nine years that shows they still have that X factor. (7:10 p.m. Sunday, Roots Stage)
Nine inch nails
In 2019, NIN was named by fans as the #1 act to ever perform at Riot Fest in an event-sanctioned poll, with many praising the industrial act’s 2017 ensemble. Frontman Trent Reznor has written some of the most ferociously danceable songs of our time (“Terrible Lie,” “March of the Pigs,” “The Perfect Drug”) and brought in some of the most capable musicians to grease the machine. . NIN shows are known for their high production value, and this weekend’s appearance will be worth the wait after the act had to postpone last year’s scheduled set due to COVID. Although they aren’t listed as offering a full album, NIN’s flagship EP “Broken” turns 30 a few days later, just to say. (8:15 p.m. Sunday, Riot Stage)