Riot Fest Returns For 15th Year with Bikini Kill, Blink-182, and More

For its 15th anniversary celebration, Riot Fest set up camp in Douglass Park on Chicago’s west side once again, bringing in major performances from Blink-182, Slayer, and Bikini Kill along with scores of other bands. Over three full days, thousands of enthusiastic attendees made it out to see their favorite hardcore, punk, and indie acts, a crowd that grew in size compared to 2018’s festival.

Despite the missing Riot pig and widely popular Hellzapoppin’ Circus Sideshow, the end-of-summer punk celebration offered its trademark carnival rides, Ferris wheel, flamethrowers, and stilt walkers decked in costumes head-to-toe. And at the end of the day, there were still those finding time to play rounds of Uno in Anti-Flag’s circle pit and construct a wall of death during Village People’s hit track “YMCA.”

This year, the festival kicked off on Friday the 13th. Can’t Swim, Neck Deep, and Hot Mulligan revved up pop punk early while the final three hours of the day featured a hefty run of big bands. California natives Pennywise and the Descendents played back-to-back, the latter overlapping slightly with Rancid and Glassjaw, who were headlining on their own respective stages.

Playing their well-received album Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips rounded out the weekend’s diverse lineup with a full hour of psychedelic rock. At one point, vocalist Wayne Coyne left the colorful streamer-filled stage to crowd surf in a giant plastic ball, relying on fans to carry him across the lollygagging wave of bodies. Blink-182 closed out the night on the main stage with another album performance, Enema of the State. The set was complete with blow up aliens floating through the crowd— which are usually snatched up hurriedly by crazed, diehard fans— and bursts of paper confetti at the very end. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the record’s release.

Los Angeles indie punk trio Cherry Glazerr played on Saturday at 1:45 pm, one of the many must-see acts scheduled on day two. Singer and guitarist Clementine Creevy, who has been with the band since she was 16, didn’t waste any time. “That's Not My Real Life,” “Had Ten Dollaz,” and the satirical “Daddi” are always setlist staples, meandering through topics of female solidarity and the infantilization of women.

Shortly after, hardcore band Turnstile rocked out on the Roots stage to a sea of thrashing fans, followed closely by Elder Brother, Turnover, and The Story So Far, all of which had slightly less thrashing. For those milling around in-between performances, marquees were scattered plentifully across the grounds. The Punk Rock & Paintbrushes gallery hosted artwork from featured artists, such as Monique Powell of Save Ferris, Matt Skiba of Blink-182, and Tim McIlrath of Rise Against. Attendees young and old jumped into a giant cube pit at Vans “Off The Wall,” while others sought delight from Bacci’s massive $10 pizza slices in the general and VIP food areas.

PVRIS took on the Radicals stage Saturday at sunset with poignant vocals and a stunning collection of songs. Finishing their set with “St. Patrick” and “My House,” vocalist Lynn Gunn traversed through sections of their sophomore release All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell and their debut record White Noise with ease. They included two singles from their upcoming album, “Hallucinations” and “Death of Me”— both of which deliver dark, exquisite imagery in their newly released music videos. PVRIS was the first female-fronted band to sign to hardcore label Rise Records in 2014 and are currently signed to Warner Records.

Putting on one of the most energetic shows of the weekend, Senses Fail vocalist Buddy Nielsen arrived in a vivid blue suit and chipped black nails as he swirled across the stage with a corded mic in tow. They played From the Depths of Dreams front to back with two additional songs during their encore, “Can't Be Saved” and “Bite to Break Skin.” With culminating guitars and lyrics entrenched with quintessential emo themes like heartache and decay, their performance undoubtedly brought on the nostalgia hard for many head-banging fans.

Thrash metal band Slayer took over on Saturday night as the primary closing band, their final Chicago— and Milwaukee— show ever. The set encapsulated twenty menacing tracks, including the eerie guitar shrieks in “Raining Blood,” 1988’s haunting “South of Heaven,” and evocative riffs from “Angel of Death.”

Sunday was chock-full of pop hits from The B-52s and Village People, alt rock from Ween and The Raconteurs, and emo melancholy from Taking Back Sunday, The Starting Line, and Frank Iero. But most notably, the Riot stage boasted a formidable lineup of solely female acts on day three, starting off with Oklahoma’s grunge infused Skating Polly and Canadian band The Beaches. Against Me! took over at 4:00 pm and were greeted by a roaring, lively crowd. Led by vocalist Laura Jane Grace, the punk anarchists flawlessly delivered Reinventing Axl Rose in its entirety, followed by Transgender Dysphoria Blues, which is their most successful record to date.

Patti Smith was a standout performance, playing original tracks like “People Have The Power” and “Dancing Barefoot” while covering various hits from Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, and others. In true heroine form, Smith ended the set with her eloquent rendition of Van Morrison’s “Gloria” from her 1975 album Horses, a track full of unhurried contemplation and slow, pensive proclamations like “Jesus died for somebody’s sins— but not mine.”

Closing out Riot Fest was Bikini Kill, the fierce punk quartet known as the pioneers of the riot grrrl movement in the 1990s. Their unapologetic, radical feminist lyrics spewed from every edge of the stage out into the thrumming crowd. In “Feels Blind,” Kathleen Hanna delivered her influential manifesto over an opening bass line. She shouted, “All the doves that fly past my eyes, have a stickiness to their wings. In the doorway of my demise I stand, encased in the whisper you taught me.” Bikini Kill played 25 songs in total, ending with the resounding “Rebel Girl.”

Since its inception in 2005, Riot Fest has grown exponentially in size and today stands as one of the country’s largest and most diverse annual punk festivals. It is most known for distinctive artist reunions, full album performances, and occasional pop legends— like No Doubt, Blondie, and M.I.A.— that bring together eager fans in the masses. Imagine Dragons played in 2012, and at the time, they were positioned lower on the bill than skate punk bands like NOFX and Less Than Jake. They blew up shortly after and are now one of the biggest bands in the world.

The festival hit a record year for attendance in 2014 when they housed seven stages and booked a series of highly sought-after headliners: The Cure, Jane’s Addiction, and The National, in addition to a long list of gigantic supporting acts. Yet, the literal and figurative landscape has changed significantly since then. Humboldt Park did not welcome Riot Fest back in 2015 due to severe damages caused from heavy rain and crowds the year before, among bigger issues like rising gentrification in the neighborhood. The last couple of years have shown more depth and social consciousness in featuring female artists and mixed-gender bands; however, it now lacks the sonic range brought in by hip-hop acts like Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg, which were booked on the lineup in prior years.

Nevertheless, Riot Fest still retains a deep sense of camaraderie and inclusivity among attendees and performing artists alike.

Village People managed to motivate a handful of extra zealous fans, out of thin air, to gather as complete strangers for an organized frenzy. Meanwhile, a conga line spontaneously erupted and at the end of their set, during “YMCA,” a fiery teen crowd surfed from the back all the way to the stage with his hand wrapped tightly around his walker. Security were quick to carefully help him down at the barricade, and took time to make sure the walkways were wide enough to get through. Afterward, fans high-fived and excitedly hugged the crowd-surfer as he sat near the photo pit exit for a short rest.

Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace confessed that Riot Fest is her favorite festival, and warmly thanked all the behind-the-scenes crew and Riot Fest teams for coming together to make the event possible. Handmade posters peppered the crowd with heartfelt messages. “You’re My Hero” caught the eye of one stage videographer, which promptly ignited a cheer from fans.

During Ween, two harlequins generously fanned a stranger that had fainted while standing up, the most adorable proposals went down during Less Than Jake and The Raconteurs, and a colossal sing-along took off in the mosh pit during Taking Back Sunday’s Tell All Your Friends. One fan bonded with a drunk-happy wasp— the official Riot Fest mascot— nestled in his cup while watching Gwar, and another handed out toilet paper at the porta-potties near the Rebel stage on Sunday.

Single-handedly capturing the spirit of punk rock at its core, Chris Barker of Anti-Flag took a moment to address the crowd during their charged set, proclaiming, “Friends, it is an honor and privilege, to stand with you today. Against racism— Against sexism— Homophobia— Islamophobia— Transphobia— Bigotry of any and all kind. Let’s see some fucking unity.”

Riot Fest 2020 will take place from September 11-13th. Mark your calendars.