This morning, organizers behind Chicago’s infamous alternative rock and punk rock festival Riot Fest (September 15-17 at Douglas Park) unveiled over 70 artists in their First Wave lineup announcement, with headlining performances by genre-breaking artist Nine Inch Nails, desert rock ruffians Queens of the Stone Age, and the exclusive reunion of seminal punk rock band Jawbreaker. This is Riot Fest’s return after losing co-founder Sean McKeough last December, and the lineup sure seems to make up for the loss.
The lineup features a variety of other notable inclusions, including the 80s post-punk pioneers New Order, pop punk darlings Paramore, RATM and Public Enemy supergroup Prophets of Rage, New York gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, dance punk beloveds Death From Above 1979, and an exclusive 40th Anniversary set from hardcore punk legends Bad Brains.
Riot Fest also has room for artists that don’t necessarily fit within that “punk” designation. Also on the lineup are industrial metal act Ministry, indie alternative rock outfit TV on the Radio, the inimitable M.I.A., hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan, and a DJ set from Beastie Boys’ Mike D.
As is Riot Fest tradition, a series of phenomenal bands will be playing one of their album’s in full. This year’s artists include Dinosaur Jr. playing You’re Living All Over Me, Built To Spill’s Keep It Like A Secret, Fishbone’s Truth and Soul, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ Let’s Face It, Bayside’s The Walking Wounded, Mayday Parade’s A Lesson In Romantics, The Lawrence Arms’ Oh, Calcutta!, and that dog.’s Retreat From The Sun. Two more bands playing full albums will be announced at a later date.
The festival will be held at Chicago’s Douglas Park from September 15-17. With such an impressive lineup, purchasing tickets as soon as possible doesn’t seem to bad an idea. Riot Fest Three-Day Passes will go on sale April 19 with both General Admission and VIP options via Ticketfly. You can purchase tickets right here.
In addition to the remaining 25+ bands that will be announced in May, on Thursday, April 20th, organizers will be revealing select artists who will be performing their seminal album for the festival. Riot Fest will also once again feature a full-scale carnival with rides, games of chance, and of course, the Hellzapoppin’ Sideshow Revue freak show, which will see a much extended footprint from prior years. And to satisfy the refined palates of Riot patrons, there will be over 40 unique and diverse food vendors from which to choose.
Check out the festival flyer below.
(Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat)
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