The Chicagoland annual festival Riot Fest, taking place Sept. 22-24 this year, has announced a new location. In a statement earlier this week, festival organizers put the blame on Chicago Park District, as it has been held in recent years at Douglass Park in the city of Chicago. The new venue is SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL, where the event will reclaim and rebrand the stadium as RiotLand: A "Choose Your Own Adventure" Experience. The festival features 90+ bands and various themes, pasted in detail below.
Performers at this year's Riot Fest include NOFX with a 3-day send-off, plus Fall Out Boy, Descendents, Circle Jerks, Buzzcocks, D.O.A., Pavement, Mastodon, Slayer, Bright Eyes, The Lawrence Arms, and more.
August 18, 2024 update: The festival has relocated back to Douglass Park in Chicago, IL. Find more info via their website.
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The full details:
Q101 Radio Tower: A nostalgic tribute to an iconic radio station, featuring live broadcasts and unique photo opportunities. At night, there’s a new fiesta in the making as we speak. It’s out at the Moontower, full kegs, everybody’s going to be there, you ought to go.
NOFX World: A stage and area dedicated to celebrating the music and legacy of NOFX, joined by their friends and fans alike, led by the ringmaster, named Fat Mike, to take you into the night.
Cabaret Metro Stage: A nod to the legendary Chicago venue, Metro, where many Riot Fest alum cut their teeth long before headlining the festival.
AAA Stage: If you know, you know, and that means you were probably lucky enough to be there. AAA was a warehouse venue where Riot Fest hosted many secret shows in the earlier days of the festival. You probably weren’t there the first time, but you won't want to miss it again.
House of Law: Courthouse by day, OZ nightclub at night. RiotLand’s only gay punk and dance club that only opens at night.
Kevin Smith Tribute Zones:
Quick Stop: An immersive re-creation of the famous convenience store from "Clerks."
Cretin Prairie Center: An area inspired by the film "Mallrats," featuring themed activities and surprises. Who knows, you may end up on Truth or Mate on Riot Fest’s #2 channel, RFTV.
Casino: Yes, a casino, and it’s real. Are you feeling lucky? Not gambling advice, but I’m guessing if you poll the Riot Fest attendees…most would tell you to just put it all on black.
World’s Largest Festival Bar: Fly in Mr. Guinness as Riot Fest attempts to unofficially break the world record
Butter Stamos: Is he made out of rubber or is he made out of stone? Did you know there is at least one Butter Stamos tattoo out there?
Nihilist Arby’s: We thought about not even including this one because it doesn’t even matter. Nothing matters. Eat Arby’s.
Riot Fest will also feature fan-favorites from years past including the Wedding Chapel (You can get legally married at RiotLand), the Riot Pop!! Skate Ramp, free arcade games from Logan Arcade, Professor Pizza, the world's largest touring rock-n-roll circus freak show Hellzapoppin Circus, mini golf, and all of your favorite bands playing at the same time.
Riot Fest 2024 Lineup
Riot Fest 2024 boasts a stellar lineup of top-tier punk, rock, and alternative artists, including:
Headliners:
Friday brings the return of hometown favorites, Fall Out Boy, making their first appearance at the festival since they first reunited at 2013’s edition.
Saturday brings indie rock favorites, Beck and a very rare performance from Pavement.
Closing out the festival on Sunday is a force that cannot be reckoned with – a reunion performance by metal legends, Slayer!
NOFX will be performing all three days of the festival as Riot Fest bids them a final farewell surrounded by many of their peers and contemporaries like Pennywise, Descendents, and Circle Jerks.
Notable Acts: Filling out the stacked lineup is a wide array of bands spanning decades and genres. Festival attendees will be treated with sets from the likes of St. Vincent, Rob Zombie, The Offspring (performing Smash), Sublime (w/ Jakob Nowell, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson), Bright Eyes, a rare performance from Dr. Dog (who retired from full-time touring in 2021), Manchester Orchestra (performing Cope), Public Enemy’s reunion, The Marley Brothers featuring Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian performing a Bob Marley set. Something Corporate will play their first Chicago show since 2010. Laura Jane Grace teams up with Catbite to play an Operation Ivy set, and Michael C. Hall (of Dexter and Six Feet Under fame) hits the stage with his band Princess Goes, performing synth-driven goth pop. Festival favorites Taking Back Sunday and GWAR will return in 2024!
Full album plays this year are The Offspring playing “Smash”, Manchester Orchestra playing “Cope” and Mastodon performing their classic, “Leviathan”.
2-Day and 3-Day Passes are available
Tickets: riotfest.tixr.com/riotfest2024
RiotLand: riotfest.org
Full Riot Fest Band Line-up:
Action/Adventure
ALL
Basement
Beach Bunny
Beck
Bright Eyes
Brutus
Buzzcocks
Circle Jerks
Clutch
Cobra Skulls
Codefendants
Cursive
Cypress Hill
D.O.A.
Descendents
Dillinger Four
Doom Scroll
Dr. Dog
Drug Church
Face To Face
Fall Out Boy
Fiddlehead
Games We Play
GEL
Get Dead
GWAR
HEALTH
Heart Attack Man
Home Front
Hot Mulligan
Huge Euge
Jack Kays
Jhariah
L.S.Dunes
Lagwagon
Lamb Of God
Laura Jane Grace + Catbite
Liquid Mike
Lord of the Lost
Loveless
Manchester Orchestra
Mastodon
Nekrogoblikon
New Found Glory
NOFX
Oliver Tree
Pavement
Pennywise
Pixel Grip
Poison The Well
Polaris
Princess Goes
Public Enemy
Rival Sons
Rob Zombie
Saxsquatch
Sincere Engineer
Sir Chloe
Slaughter Beach, Dog
Slayer
Something Corporate
Souls of Mischief
Spiritual Cramp
Spoon
SPRINTS
St. Vincent
State Champs
Strung Out
Sublime
Suicidal Tendencies
Sum 41
Sunami
Sweet Pill
Swingin’ Utters
Taking Back Sunday
The Aces
The Armed
The Chisel
The Dead Milkmen
The Defiant
The Dickies
The Exploited
The Hives
The Lawrence Arms
The Marleys (Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian)
The Mysterines
The Offspring
The Vandals
The Warning
Tierra Whack
Tornillo
Urethane
Verböten
Waxahatchee
Winona Fighter
Zheani
Pictured: NOFX live in 2015
