Riot Fest To Celebrate Fifteen Years of Punk Shows in 2019
Photo Credit: Anthony Nguyen
Riot Fest— the head-banging, three day Chicago punk festival slated for September 13-15th in Douglas Park— will be turning fifteen years old this year, after featuring nearly 1500+ bands over the last decade and a half. Fifteen. The perfect age to start becoming a little rebellious and step into the world of rock ‘n’ roll.
For its 15th anniversary, Riot Fest isn’t messing around. Blink-182 is back and ready to perform as one of the main headliners, after canceling their appearance at last year’s event for medical reasons. Bikini Kill reunites after an over 20-year hiatus, and thrash metal band Slayer plans to play their final Chicago show, so they say.
Other headliners include Rise Against, Jawbreaker, The Raconteurs, Patti Smith, and The Flaming Lips, in addition to Riot Fest alums like Against Me!, Taking Back Sunday, Anti-Flag, Andrew W.K., and The Story So Far.
Outside of hardcore and punk classics, a plethora of newer artists are thrumming and ready to make their mark at the fest, including Cherry Glazerr, The Garden, and Chicago cult favorites, American Football— the latter initially active in 1997, but with a nearly 17 year hiatus, they are basically in their infancy.
Cherry Glazerr stepped into the scene in 2013 when Burger Records discovered lead singer Clementine Creevy’s solo music on Soundcloud. She grabbed two of her close friends to round out the band and they have been gaining popularity ever since, particularly for their punk ethos as well as artistic influence.
Slightly weird and rather peculiar, The Garden is made up of twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, hailing from Orange County, California. The duo is known for blending genres into a mish mash of DIY attitude, cheeky lyrics, and staccato-smash drum beats. Based on their quirky music videos and unique personal style, The Garden is sure to deliver an exciting and chaotic performance.
And of course, American Football. With a dedicated fan base trudging behind them and plenty of layered, emo-math songs, American Football’s set will be a must to check out, especially after the latest release of their much anticipated third album.
In recent history, festivals have been under scrutiny for becoming too mainstream and selling out when compared to their origins and lineups in early years. Riot Fest has been included under this umbrella by some, however the festival’s distinctive offering in 2019 speaks for itself. Staying mostly within punk and hardcore, Riot Fest will absolutely stay a riot this year, their biggest year yet.
Kicking off in 2005, Riot Fest started as a multi-venue festival aiming to gather artists on the punk spectrum into a single event. By 2012, the festival swelled in popularity and consolidated into one location, Chicago’s Humboldt Park on the west side. It was marketed as a carnival of sorts, offering side shows and rides, which included flame throwers and multiple Ferris wheels. It’s now gained acclaim for the notoriously frequent reunion shows. Past years’ shows have included big names, like the Misfits, Jawbreaker, Weezer, System of a Down, Elvis Costello, Iggy & the Stooges, No Doubt, Naked Raygun, The Replacements, The Cure, and Sleater-Kinney.
In addition to the killer lineup, this year’s festival will feature select artists playing full albums, which includes Taking Back Sunday’s Tell All Your Friends and Louder Now, The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Against Me’s Reinventing Axl Rose and Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Dashboard Confessional’s The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most, and Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm, among others.
For Riot Fest’s 15th birthday— or rather, anniversary— there may not be any cake, but rest assured this raging punk party will be another one for the books. Tickets are still available to purchase, here.
Check out our top 28 must-see artists, with our favorite tracks, scheduled for Riot Fest in 2019.
1. PATTI SMITH – “GLORIA”
2. MICROWAVE – “BUT NOT OFTEN,”
3. CAN'T SWIM – “STRANGER”
4. TURNSTILE – “DROP”
5. CAROLINE ROSE – “JEANNIE BECOMES A MOM”
6. THE ERGS! – “HEY JEALOUSY”
7. MAT KEREKES – “RUBY”
8. AGAINST ME! – “THRASH UNREAL”
9. THIS WILD LIFE – “HISTORY”
10. THE STORY SO FAR – “EMPTY SPACE”
11. AMERICAN FOOTBALL – “NEVER MEANT”
12. THE STRUTS – “BODY TALKS”
13. THE BEACHES – “MONEY”
14. BIKINI KILL – “REBEL GIRL”
15. TURNOVER – “DIZZY ON THE COMEDOWN”
16. CHERRY GLAZERR – “WHITE'S NOT MY COLOR THIS EVENING”
17. BLOC PARTY – “BANQUET”
18. FRANK IERO AND THE FUTURE VIOLENTS – “YOUNG AND DOOMED”
19. ELDER BROTHER – “SWAY”
20. NECK DEEP – “LOSING TEETH”
21. HOT MULLIGAN – “JIMMY NEUTRON HAD A DOG…”
22. PVRIS – “MY HOUSE”
23. MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA – “SIMPLE MATH”
24. I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME – “DO IT ALL THE TIME”
25. HOT WATER MUSIC – “TRUSTY CHORDS”
26. TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET – “SKATE OR DIE”
