For three days at the end of every summer, a relatively small park in Chicago is the home of tens of thousands of stoned and tipsy-to-drunk punk rock fans celebrating several decades of rock. What is normally an empty field for 362 days of the year is transformed as five stages and countless merch and food stands pop-up to accommodate the people. All of this is to celebrate one of the biggest music festivals in the United States: Riot Fest.
The first Riot Fest was held in 2005 in the now-defunct Congress Theater, a building that could hold a maximum of 3,500 people. 20 years later, more than 50,000 rock fans descended upon Douglass Park, located in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event.
The festival moved around, but eventually found a home at Douglass Park in 2015, where it has been held every year since. The decision to move to Douglass Park paid dividends, as that is when Riot Fest really started to get people coming back year after year.
Of all the slightly drunk and/or stoned people interviewed over the course of the three day event, the vast majority of them said that they first attended in 2015, and that they have been coming every year since.
However, there are some people that have been to every single Riot Fest, and remember the original venue that it was held in.
“The Congress Theater was great, but the plumbing was crap,” said Carter Mattig, who has attended every Riot Fest. “We’ve really found our home here.”
Mattig wasn’t the only one to remember the “old days” when Riot Fest was held at the Congress Theater. During their set on the Radical Stage on Saturday the 20th, The Bouncing Souls frontman Greg Attonito remarked that “The first one sucked. It was in this broken down building, and everywhere you went it sounded like 15 bands playing at once.”
The Bouncing Souls were one of three bands to play at both the first Riot Fest and the 20th one, the other two being Agent Orange and The Effigies. Agent Orange also performed on Saturday on the Rebel Stage, while The Effigies performed on Sunday the 21st, on the Riot Stage.
One way that Riot Fest keeps getting people back is through the diverse group of acts that perform.
“It changes every year, and there’s always something for everyone,” said Bill Brundies, who has attended every Riot Fest. “Everyone can enjoy something. There’s people here to see Weird Al and Blink-182 tonight, and tomorrow there will be people crowdsurfing to the Beach Boys.”
This year’s Riot Fest had a wide variety of acts, from Art Rock group Sparks to the classic Alternative Rock group Weezer, to Japanese Pop group Shonen Knife.
This year’s festival not only had established bands such as Green Day and The Effigies, but also newer bands such as The Paradox, The Linda Lindas, and Honey Revenge. The Paradox were the newest group to perform, having been founded in June 2024. The Linda Lindas released their debut album Growing Up in 2024, and Honey Revenge released their debut album Retrovision in 2023. The diverse lineup also plays a role in bringing people to Riot Fest.
The variety and the skill of the acts causes some people to not even worry about the lineup. Darren, a festivalgoer this year, said that he purchases his tickets every year before the lineups are even announced.
“They consistently have the best lineups,” said Mattig. “When I see the artists playing, I can go five lines down and see someone I want to see. You don’t get that with Lollapalooza.”
Since it was the 20th anniversary show, this year’s Riot Fest made sure to deliver some memorable moments. All Time Low announced they would be playing a free show in Chicago sometime in November, and local group The Academy Is… announced that in 2026 they would be releasing their first album since 2008.
One Riot Fest moment was over a decade in the making, as John Stamos made his Riot Fest debut after 12 years of jokes being made about it. In 2013, Riot Fest tried to get Stamos to appear by offering a set to Jesse and the Rippers, the band of the character that Stamos played on Full House. Since then, Riot Fest created a lookalike statue of butter to get Stamos’ attention, and held a John Stamos art show in 2017. Stamos always resisted appearing, until Riot Fest booked The Beach Boys, who Stamos tours with.
Riot Fest was also the time to say goodbye to a few acts. British post-punk group Idles played their final U.S. show before going on an announced hiatus, and Green Day’s closing set on day three was the final show of their two-year-long Saviors tour.
For the local bands that play the festival, it is a big deal to have a large event like Riot Fest in Chicago.
“The music industry knows Chicago has great fans,” said Paul Zamost, the bassist for The Effigies. “They know this city will show out. Riot Mike (the founder of Riot Fest) is honoring all the early Chicago bands. It’s all music, it’s all good.”
The event being in Chicago also makes it easier for the locals that want to attend it.
“I have friends all over the country and the world that come to see this event,” said Mattig. “I don’t have to work in Dubai to be able to afford to travel and buy tickets for it.”
With events like Riot Fest, the end goal is leaving lasting memories for the people that attend it.
“My favorite Riot Fest memory is coming with my daughter and her best friend to see Blink-182 a few years ago,” said Mattig. “That was the first concert I took them to when they were younger. Getting to see them grow up and have moments like that, it means everything.”
