The 20th iteration of Chicago’s own Riot Fest started with a bang last week at Douglass Park. Two decades of stellar music and community culminated in a three day extravaganza headlined by Blink-182, Weezer and Green Day and supported by a plethora of artists across every genre imaginable. A sold out crowd streamed into the park to begin a weekend of elevated decibels and camaraderie- check out all the highlights from day one!
Pop and Hip Hop Draw Huge Crowds
The sun was beating down on the audience gathered at Radical Stage to start the day early with Canada’s Marianas Trench. The pop rock group took Riot Fest to church with singer Josh Ramsay’s ethereal vocals- with a killer assist by guitarist Matt Webb. Their set was short but undoubtedly memorable as the band ran through old favorites like “Stutter” and “Who Do You Love” alongside tracks from their latest album. The diehards on the barricade sang their lungs out in an attempt to match Ramsay’s pitch, putting a smile on the faces of the whole band and starting the day off right.
The aptly-named Riot Stage hosted everything from rock to metal but it was Rico Nasty’s late afternoon performance that pulled people in from across Douglass Park’s huge field. The Maryland rapper marries her hip hop influences with elements of heavier music for a sound that is powerful, brash and uniquely her own. Backed by a DJ and a live guitarist, she rapped without appearing to breathe, flowing effortlessly through “Who Want It”, “Trust Issues” and “Crash”. She even threw some heavy screaming vocals in at the end of her set as the crowd went wild in response. Only at Riot Fest can you find artists like Rico Nasty and Alkaline Trio performing on the same stage and- every time- it just manages to work perfectly.
Riot Finds Its Hard Rock ‘Roots’
Friday’s lineup was stacked with hardcore, post-hardcore and rock acts, most of which landed at the Roots Stage throughout the day. From the moment the gates opened, fans rushed for the barricade, parking themselves at the front for Knocked Loose and Blink-182. Before all of that, there was Touché Amoré, a California post-hardcore outfit that absolutely ripped through their early set. Singer Jeremy Bolm was a force of nature as he moved the crowd on command and even got some of the first crowdsurfers of the day.
Senses Fail has also cemented their place in the post-hardcore world and are favorites of both Chicagoans and Riot Fest goers over the years. Buddy Nielsen described his longtime love for the city and treated longtime fans of the band to an hour of music mixed with monologue as the fans absorbed every moment of the performance. They were the perfect precursor to Alkaline Trio on the neighboring stage- another native Chicago group and scene staple. Their album play of “Maybe I’ll Catch Fire” was one of the specially selected sets for the weekend and fans all over the park were spotted in vintage AT shirts in preparation for the band’s set. They started the set with a selection of hits and closed out with the full record, clearing the way for Knocked Loose on the main stage.
It’s been a monumental few years for Knocked Loose and their headlining slot on the Roots Stage could not have been more deserved. With a production that’s been scaled up to match the band’s unbelievable energy, even fans at the back of the crowd felt the heat from the columns of flame emanating from the stage. Vocalist Bryan Garris paced back and forth, growling and screaming at the audience to get involved as the band chugged through “Blinding Faith”, “Piece by Piece”, “Suffocate” and much more. Those not staying for Blink-182 still got their fill with KL’s set as the front of the massive crowd roiled and churned with multiple mosh pits and crowd surfers.
Weird Al’s Weird World Takeover
The crowd at the Rise Stage (renamed Weird Al Yankovic’s Weird World Stage for the day) stretched nearly to the entrance of the festival in anticipation of Yankovic’s career-spanning set. The comedy singer is best known for his parody songs and flamboyant stage presence and he brought the whole shebang to Riot Fest for the very first time. To make room for his constant costume changes, the fans were kept entertained with spoof video clips that segued into “Polkamania!”, “Smells Like Nirvana” (complete with Kurt Cobain wig) and a medley of some of his greatest, goofiest hits.
His impact on the culture is undeniable- as evidenced by Yankovic having one of the largest crowds of day one- as fans remembered every last word to “Fat” and the forever-hilarious “White and Nerdy”. He even gave the people a Star Wars themed encore- and where else could you see thousands of punk rock fans chanting along to “Yoda” to close out a long day?
After a beautiful day under the hot Chicago sun, fans dispersed into the balmy evening air ready to start all over again on Saturday- the weekend was just beginning so stay tuned for days two and three!
