Sponsored Content

Riot Fest is an annual three-day music festival at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois. Riot Fest, a multi-location festival that debuted in Chicago in 2005, transitioned to an outdoor event in 2012 before moving to Toronto and Denver through 2017. Riot Fest focuses on rock, punk, alternative rock and hip hop.

Riot Fest is renowned for scheduling band reunions, special guests, and album performances. Naked Raygun, The Replacements in 2013, The Misfits in 2016 and Jawbreaker in 2017 were among the bands that came together due to the festival. One of the biggest private music festivals in the country is still Riot Fest.

The bulk of the bands performing at Riot Fest fall within the punk spectrum, with metal, hip-hop, new wave, and hardcore punk being the most widely represented subgenres. Besides psychobilly, thrash metal, post-hardcore and indie pop, Riot Fest saw a significant presence of metalcore, alternative rock, pop punk, ska and metalcore.

Mike Petryshyn and Sean McKeough also co-produced the annual Motoblot motorcycle festival in Chicago and founded Riot Fest in 2005. Riot Fest was a multi-location festival that spanned seven years, featuring bands over a weekend of three days at the Metro, Subterranean, Double Door, Cobra Lounge, and Congress Theater. These groups included Social Distortion, Danzig, Cock Sparrer, Weezer, Alkaline Trio, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bad Brains, the Dead Milkmen, Fun., the Lawrence Arms, Bad Religion, the Murder City Devils, etc.

Riot Fest features reunion performances from Naked Raygun, Wax, Blue Meanies, Articles of Faith, Plow United, Jesus and Mary Chain, Chiodos, Misfits, Jawbreaker and the Replacements, in addition to punk, rock, indie rock, the alternative, psychobilly, metal, skate punk and ska.

In 2012, Riot Fest changed location and moved to Chicago’s Humboldt Park, which was renamed Riot Fest & Carnival and featured rides, games, pro wrestling, and food vendors. With subsequent events held in Brooklyn, Toronto, Dallas and Denver, the festival also expanded across North America in 2012. [4]. Since McKeough’s passing in 2016, Riot Fest has remained an annual event in Chicago.

RIOT FEST PROGRAM FOR 2022

The Chicago festival will also feature performances by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bauhaus, Sleater-Kinney, Sunny Day Real Estate, Descendents, Ice Cube, Bleachers, Action Bronson, Jeff Rosenstock, Alice Glass, and more.

The Riot Fest roster, which takes place at Chicago’s Douglass Park from September 16-18, will have its ticket available for sale on Cheapo Ticketing. Headliners include My Chemical Romance, Nine Inch Nails and the Original Misfits, who will perform a song from their timeless Walk Among Us album.

Lineup also includes the Wonder Years, Jimmy Eat World, the Linda Lindas, Cloud Nothings, Bully, Rocket From the Crypt, Mannequin Pussy, Bad Religion, Descendents, Ice Cube, Bleachers, Action Bronson, Jeff Rosenstock, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bauhaus , Sleater-Kinney, a reunited Sunny Day Real Estate, and more. Below is a poster with the full range. Additionally, Yellowcard, Is Academy, and Midtown reunions are also scheduled for the festival.

Festival founder Mike Petryshyn said, “I think this year’s list is really about who we are; it’s been a minute since we’ve hosted a lineup like this. “I’m particularly excited about what this leads to in the things that will happen in the days, weeks and years to come.”