RIOT FEST

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

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

The bulk of the bands that perform at Riot Fest fit along the punk spectrum, with metal, hip-hop, new wave, and hardcore punk being the most widely represented subgenres. Along with psychobilly, thrash metal, post-hardcore, and indie pop acts, Riot Fest has seen a significant presence from 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-venue festival that ran for seven years, showcasing bands over a three-day weekend at the Metro, Subterranean, Double Door, Cobra Lounge, and Congress Theater. These bands 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 by Naked Raygun, Wax, Blue Meanies, Articles of Faith, Plow United, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Chiodos, Misfits, Jawbreaker, and the Replacements, in addition to punk, rock, indie rock, alternative, psychobilly, metal, skate punk, and ska genres.

In 2012, Riot Fest changed locations and relocated to Chicago’s Humboldt Park, which was rebranded as Riot Fest & Carnival and featured amusement rides, games, professional 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 continued to be a yearly event in Chicago.

RIOT FEST LINEUP FOR 2022

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

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

The 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 complete lineup. Additionally scheduled for the festival are reunions by Yellowcard, the Academy Is…, and Midtown.

The founder of the festival, Mike Petryshyn, said, “I think this year’s roster really speaks to who we are; it’s been a minute since we’ve gotten to curate a lineup like this.” “I’m particularly enthusiastic about what this is heading into the things that will happen in the coming days, weeks, and years.”