It’s September in Chicago and that means one thing, it’s Riot Fest. The festival, now in it’s 11th year, starts bright and early Friday morning. Wouldn’t you know it, folks round town are excited. I took my whiteboard to the people to see what they had to say. This is definitely an exciting time of year for a lot of people. 2015 will be my 8th time attending Riot Fest and 4th time covering for Punktastic. Given how many times I’ve flown in from out of town and based important life decisions on attending this festival, it has been a pleasure watching this festival grow. Despite the utterly ridiculous controversies surrounding this Chicago staple this year, it was great to see how many turned out to tell their stories and share their hype for the weekend. As usual, everyone exceeded my expectations well beyond what I imagined. It was a blast working with all of you and I can’t wait to see everyone in the pit. Cheers!
-mat stokes
“Friday was freezing cold and miserable, I worked the whole weekend. But, on Sunday afternoon, it was 14:00 and Andrew WK came out and played ‘I Get Wet’ front to back, while screaming PARTY between every song. Then, the night closed out with Weezer and it was like singing karaoke with 20,000 of my best friends.” -Alli
As someone who works a different aspect of Riot Fest, I can attest to the power of that one perfect set that makes every ounce of work you put into this shindig worth while. I can’t wait for that moment to come again this year.
I’m glad to see Archie has a higher opinion of Riot Fest than the festival does of itself, but not by much. Shout out to two important people behind making this yearly custom an annual tradition.
David and I are definitely on the same page when it comes to this being a vacation. For me, its a chance to do what I want to do for four days and get to pretend that’s all I do. For David, it’s a chance to cut loose and catch up on his favorites and pick up some new tunes. That’s the beauty of this festival, no matter how old you are, there’s always someone playing you currently like, did when you were a kid, or brings out enough of the 15 year old in you to fall in love with something new. I was touched by David’s story about using Riot to stage a surprise family reunion:
“Last year, my brother and I bought tickets for my niece and her new husband and then we surprised her by bringing in her dad, my cousin. We bought him plane tickets and Riot Fest tickets so that, at this amazing festival, he could meet his new son-in-law for the first time. It was one of the most amazing weekends of my life” -David
“It was a muddy drunken wonderful blur full of sweet music that I can’t even remember the names of. It was pretty fucking great.” -Gabrielle
“I moved to Chicago 2 years ago and one of the first things I did when I moved here was go to Riot Fest. It was the coldest rainiest most miserable day ever and I was really hung over and sick. I toughed through and had a really good time. And that was kind of like a bonding experience with Chicago; I saw some of my favorite artists ever and it was a really good time. Ever since then, I’ve made a commitment to go to Riot Fest every year. I think that it embodies Chicago for me, going to Riot Fest every year. Last year was great and this year is looking like the best yet.” -Jim
“I hope it doesn’t rain because I feel like it’s rained the last four years.” -Kathy
What I can’t figure out about Jim’s and Kathy’s experiences is which days they’re talking about because there have been so many cold and rainy days that have been a blast, but they became a blur. I really do not want it to rain again.
“I feel like in all the years I’ve been going to Riot Fest, it has really, really had a profound experience on me. Because, you know these bands that I grew up listening to and actually seeing them live, now at a older age, it really speaks volumes to the things that we dealt with growing up.” -Manny
Right? Plus, it always puts a smile on my face to see love for Against Me! I am going to get so little sleep on Friday because of them and I couldn’t be happier.
“Over the past couple of years, ever since I’ve been in the city, I’ve been to at least one show minimum at every Riot Fest. Last year, I was there all three days because of Punktastic. It has been a really interesting experience watching it go from this small punk festival to kind of become this very diverse list of musicians and all of these different acts performing together.” -Mike
If there is one constant thread, its that people move to Chicago then go to Riot Fest. And why wouldn’t you? I was drawn to it immediately when I moved in 2008 because I could watch my friends band play and see the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for the first time on the same day. Valient Thor also played and they were the best thing I’d ever seen. Since then, I’ve been hooked. I would not be surprised to learn that Mike and I are far from the only ones who make similar pacts about attending Riot Fest.
“This year, I am oddly excited for a strange mix of bands ranging from Atreyu, to Against Me! White Mystery, and System of a down. I’m really happy that I got to see bands like Weezer play the entire Blue Album and that I got to see Dads play, because now they’re broken up.” -Monica
I stood in the rain that day for Saves the Day and it was glorious. I also saw Public Enemy later, on that very same stage. That’s Riot Fest for you.
“This is my fourth year going. I joke all the time about it being nostalgia fest because that’s kind of what it’s been. It’s all the bands I loved from 14-29. It’s really great to revisit those years when I was a kid and I had to have my mom drop me off at shows.” -Sam A
My dad totally took me and my friend to my first punk show. It was Anti-Flag. He actually watched some of their set and said he was impressed. I will say, if there is one thing Riot Fest knows how to do, it’s throw a truly ALL ages show.
“I’ve been going for about 8 years and it keeps getting more fun and fun. I actually love the outdoor aspect of it. It’s a lot better than being stuck at the congress all day.” -Sam K
While I appreciate what they were able to pull off with the shit hole that was the Congress, like going from thinking that I would never see Descendents to seeing Descendents 3 times now, moving it out doors was an A+ decision. Rain or shine, there is always fun to be had. It’s just one of those things you put up with because it is 100% worth it.