Few festivals curate the uniquely immersive experience that Riot Fest has since moving outdoors in 2012, hosting nearly 50,000 concertgoers a day in Douglass Park in the city of Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood.
This year, in addition to fest staples like boxing, wrestling and carnival rides, Riot Fest unveiled RiotLand, debuting a world which celebrates the festival’s unique history as it stares down a once unthinkable 20 years next fall.
Fans exchanged vows in an on site wedding chapel throughout the weekend while others stocked up on festival essentials like condoms and cough drops at Quick Stop, a fully functioning replica of the convenience store which acted as setting in the 1994 Kevin Smith-directed comedy Clerks (one of the most significant independent film releases of all time celebrated by one of the most successful independent festivals in the country).
Ahead of a trio of farewell performances kicking off October 4, 2024 in Los Angeles, LA punks NOFX performed a unique headlining set each of the festival’s three nights on stage at NOFX World. NOFX frontman Fat Mike founded the Punk Rock Museum last year and worked with Riot Fest to commemorate both the fest and punk rock’s history via RiotLand’s Riot Fest Historical Society installation.
While Riot Fest has become known for reuniting acts like The Replacements and Misfits, RiotLand’s most well-known attraction actually grew out of the one act they couldn’t reform.
Between 1987 and ‘95, actor John Stamos portrayed Jesse Katsopolis throughout eight seasons of the ABC sitcom Full House, with the character being kicked out of the fictional band Jesse & The Rippers near the show’s end.
Stamos, who sits in on drums occasionally for the Beach Boys, became a frequent Riot Fest target on social media with the festival eventually creating an actual butter bust of the actor. Taking that a step further, this year Riot Fest unveiled a full-sized butter statue of the actor (spoiler alert: in order to withstand two days of temperatures pushing 90 degrees as well as storms Sunday, the statue was actually designed in 3-D and created in foam and resin – but it looks like butter).
While Jesse & The Rippers failed to get back together again this year, metal stalwarts Slayer and 90s alt ska outfit Sublime (featuring vocalist Jakob Nowell in place of deceased father Bradley Nowell alongside original rhythm section Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh) did, with both reunited acts performing opposite one another as Riot Fest wrapped up Sunday night.
Australian metalcore act Polaris hit the stage at the very un-rock and roll time of 1:20 PM Friday, tearing it up over the course of 30 minutes on the AAA stage.
“Riot Fest!” screamed singer Jamie Hails, setting up opener “Nightmare.” “It’s about time you guys wake the f–k up!” he continued, riling up the early crowd prior to “Inhumane.”
Former Mighty Mighty Bosstones frontman Dicky Barrett was a pleasant Friday surprise, hitting the Riot Fest stage with his latest project The Defiant, who supported their debut album If We’re Really Being Honest over the course of 30 minutes on the NOFX World stage.
“Thank you very much!” said Barrett as the five piece group hit. “This song is about drugs!” he proclaimed, setting up the aptly-titled “We Make Drugs.”
“Why didn’t someone tell me it was too hot for a flannel?” joked Derek DiScanio, singer of pop punks State Champs as temperatures soared on day one in Chicago.
No stranger to the Riot Fest stage, California punks Face to Face were affable and entertaining over the course of one hour at NOFX World, performing “Ordinary” and “Walk the Walk” back-to-back from their stellar, self-titled 1996 album.
“There’s that f–ing helicopter again…” joked singer Trever Keith, referencing a notable scene in the 1990 Martin Scorsese-directed mob thriller Goodfellas as he pointed out the presence of a chopper overhead. “Could we all turn and flip the bird the bird?” he continued, with the crowd quickly turning to offer the requested collective salute. “That was f–ing punk!” he shouted, setting up “You Lied.” “Wow, we scared the helicopter off!” he joked in astonishment following the performance. “Nice work!”
Florida punks New Found Glory worked up their take on Idina Menzel’s “Let it Go” late in a one hour set moments before California rappers Cypress Hill kicked off across Douglass Park on the Rise stage.
Percussionist Eric Bobo worked alongside touring DJ DJ Lord as vocalists B-Real and Sen Dog spit, running through a green-themed, one hour live set including still potent cuts like “Roll it Up, Light it Up, Smoke it Up,” “I Wanna Get High,” “Dr. Greenthumb” and “Hits From the Bong” (opposite classics like “Insane in the Brain”).
“Some people can f–k off — like all the lying ass politicians,” said B-Real on stage at Riot Fest. “We’re Cypress Hill and we’ve been here for 32 years. We ain’t goin’ out like that.”
One can always sense the hand of a fan guiding Riot Fest curation and as Cypress Hill wrapped up Friday night, B-Real’s Prophets of Rage bandmate Chuck D took to the adjacent Radical stage for a one hour performance with hip-hop legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Public Enemy (as The Offspring ran through the Smash album at 30 across the park during a packed start to Riot Fest).
Chuck D shouted out Cypress Hill before “Can’t Truss It” with hypeman Flavor Flav, clad in a “Support Women’s Sports” t-shirt with a USA Olympic emblazoned clock around his neck, making a strong plea for unity following his latest solo track “Everywhere Man.”
“Our language is peace, love, unity and happiness. And that’s what we go around the world for,” said Chuck D on stage Friday. “Chicago, speak up!”
Across Chicago’s Douglass Park, Friday headliners Fall Out Boy could be heard offering up “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” (with guest vocalist Tim McIlrath of Chicago rockers Rise Against) as Public Enemy wrapped up with “Fight the Power.”
While hip-hop shined Friday night, Riot Fest closed up with a pair of high profile reunion performances Sunday, with Sublime heading toward close with “Santeria” as Slayer put forth a pyro-fueled encore heavy on anti-religious imagery, with guitarist Kerry King shredding away during “Angel of Death” to close their first performance since 2019 (the first of three high profile 2024 reunion sets).
But Riot Fest has a sense of humor too. And, in addition to the Stamos statue, Sunday featured a pair of humorous engagements courtesy of campy metal outfit GWAR and actor Ryan Francis (ThanksKilling) in his guise as Huge Euge, a self-described nerdcore hip-hop artist who opened the Sunday performance slate on the AAA stage following morning storms, rolling out unparalleled selections like “The Pacemaker Boogie Pt. 2.”
GWAR has performed at just about every outdoor Riot Fest installment since 2012 and offered up a masterclass in the marriage of music and imagery on stage Sunday.
“It’s pretty damn presumptuous of mother nature to step into our territory!” declared guitarist Balsac the Jaws of Death backstage prior to GWAR’s set, taking stock of heavy rainfall as Riot Fest 2024 entered its final day. “It makes us wet!”
Mud seems like the type of substance that could only enhance a GWAR performance and Sunday at Riot Fest, Balsac outlined a bold new approach to his own merchandising efforts.
“I have these crypto coins. They look a lot like pennies. But I’m selling them for $5,000 each,” quipped the guitarist, poking a little fun at the idea of crypto with his fictional path to personal financial success. “They’re backed by a block who has a chain. And I guarantee that they will always be worth something.”
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