Cover art by Landry Hutchens
Photos & Review by Paul Monahas
Riot Fest celebrated 20 years of its punk rock roots in Douglas Park, Chicago IL, giving fans a diverse three days of punk, emo, metal, and rap music. Pairing emerging bands with the legends who defined the sound left no room for a dull moment.
Entering the festival grounds after waiting in line with everyone talking about who they're excited to see for each day was as energetic as you would expect. The festival grounds were easily mapped out with 5 different stages that gave a variety of bands to see. Walking around were couples, individuals, bananas, wizards, and dinosaurs making the whole thing feel like a fantasy come true.
Riot Fest's headliners were Blink-182, Weezer, Jack White, and Green Day. Since headliners all performed on a single stage, the challenge was figuring out how to catch the rest; some attendees ran across the festival to their favorite sets, while others stayed put at one stage all day.
The headliners weren't the only ones who brought the chaos, all the bands that played through the day gave a unique experience to each fan who chose their stage. Riot Fest showed its attention to detail in this year’s lineup, turning a 12-year joke into reality when John Stamos joined The Beach Boys on vocals, guitar, and drums.
Each headliner made the night that they played special. Blink-182 played a cover of "Hope" by The Descendents and bought out guitar player, Stephen Egerton, to play it with them. Green Day brought a 16 year old fan on stage and let them sing their song "Know Your Enemy", and Idles brought out Jack White to perform their song "Never Fight a Man With a Perm".
The whole weekend was definitely one for the books and by the time Green Day left the stage it really set in, Riot Fest 2025 was over. I really hope that all of the bands that opened up the festival were able to get the love and attention that they deserved and move their way up the schedule for future festival
