THE RIOT FEST LINEUP IS HERE!!!!
Holy shit, you guys! The Riot Fest lineup is here and has it ever been here this early before and I am freaking out and dude why is everything spinning.
(Deep breath)
Wow, this was not expected. No headliner tease. No blurry bands on the bill to be announced later. It's the full goddamn Riot Fest lineup. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this but let's talk about first impressions:
Familiar Faces at Headliner
Does it seem like just yesterday we had Blink 182 and Jack White headlining Riot Fest? There are a few reasons for that. Number one, COVID screwed everything up and so no one has any sense of time anymore. Number two, Blink 182 did headline in 2019, but it wasn't the full lineup with Tom DeLonge involved, and that's a massive difference. And yes, Jack White was also at 2019's Riot Fest, but he was with The Raconteurs playing Raconteurs songs. He also didn't have last year's fantastic No Name LP under his belt.
And it may just seem like Weezer and Green Day have been recent headliners because both stopped by Chicago on their respective tours last year. But can you really see Weezer playing the Blue Album too many times? Same goes with Green Day and their current run of Dookie/American Idiot anniversary celebrations.
Rilo Kiley is back!
The very same Rilo Kiley that hasn't played in Chicago (or anywhere else) since 2008 prior to hitting the road this year. How big of a deal is it that the legendary Los Angeles alternative rock band is back? Pretty big considering even the band didn't think they would ever return. In an April 2011 interview, guitarist/singer Blake Sennett said, "I would say that if Rilo Kiley were a human being, he's probably laying on his back in a morgue with a tag on his toe. Now, I see movies where the dead get up and walk. And when they do that, rarely do good things happen."
'Come to Riot Fest and see this zombie band rise from the grave' may not be the best tagline. I'm working on it. Come back to me later.
Another Summer Under the Gun
On the opposite side of the Rilo Kiley spectrum, we have Military Gun, who have relentlessly toured the US for the better part of three years and decimating eardrums at every stop. After blessing Chicago with an appearance at both the Metro and Subterranean in 2023 and then Bottom Lounge, the Aragon and Lollapalooza in 2024, they're stopping in the Windy City yet again to crush bones in the most melodic way possible.
Things Are Gonna Get...Weird
Weird Al playing Riot Fest is notable all on its own. But there are a few clues down the card that make it seem like the weirdness isn't going to end with the Weird one himself. Comedian Emo Phillips and literal sad crooning clown make sense since they're all on tour together. But did you also catch the name Mac Sabbath? They're a band that plays Black Sabbath covers with the lyrics changed to all be McDonalds and fast food-related. And the band is dressed as Ronald McDonald and Grimace and company. Are we due for a dedicated Weird Stage during one of the days of the fest?
More details and tickets can be found on the official Riot Fest website.