Riot Fest Moves Venues, Drafts Fall Out Boy, Beck, Slayer For 2024 Edition
Fall Out Boy, Beck, Slayer, Pavement, the Offspring (performing Smash), St. Vincent, Rob Zombie, Public Enemy, Bright Eyes, Sublime and Dr. Dog will top the 2024 edition of Chicago’s long-running Riot Fest. The festival is moving this year from its longtime home in Douglass Park to SeatGeek Stadium in nearby Bridgeview and will be held Sept. 20-22.
News of the venue shift was revealed last night (June 11) by event founder Mike Petryshyn, who said it had become “evident change was needed,” and added that “our exodus is solely because of the Chicago Park District. Their lack of care for the community, you, and us, ultimately left us no choice.”
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“But then there’s Alderwoman Monique Scott,” he continued. “She is righteous. Caring. Passionate. She is one of us. The hardest conversation I’ve had regarding our departure was with her. It was filled with tears and sadness because Riot Fest has real meaning within the 24th Ward and vice versa. We’re not abandoning the community here — we’re taking them on this journey as well.”
Also confirmed to perform in 2024 are Stephen, Ziggy, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian Marley paying tribute to the music of their late father Bob, Spoon, Manchester Orchestra, Sum 41 and Mastodon (performing Leviathan). This year, the event will also premiere RiotLand, featuring a host of activities and food and beverage offerings.
In addition, NOFX will anchor their ongoing farewell tour with three distinct sets throughout the weekend, flanked by simpatico acts such as Buzzcocks, Laura Jane Grace, Circle Jerks, Pennywise, Face to Face, the Vandals and All.
The Cure, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Turnstile, the Mars Volta, the Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, Mr. Bungle, the Breeders, Thursday and Quicksand topped the bill for the 2023 incarnation of Riot Fest, which has also hosted memorable reunion performances from such acts as the Replacements, the Original Misfits, Jawbreaker and Naked Raygun.
“There’s a bunch of introverts out there, so I’m talking to the same audience as me,” Petryshyn told SPIN last year. “Riot Fest is a festival that maybe I’d go to — maybe. I know our fans, because I’m one of them. I can tell when our stuff will get a positive response because we’re not manipulating them or pulling the wool over their eyes. We just do dumb shit and it relates to them because we think dumb shit is funny.”
“Bands know that they’re going to be playing to a welcoming audience, not a tough audience, so they bring their A-game,” he added. “I have heard some of the most brilliant sets here — Smashing Pumpkins being one of them. When the Replacements came back, there were grown men crying everywhere. How does that happen? Honestly, I just got lucky. I still feel like I don’t deserve it, but I know it’s authentic, and the bands know it’s authentic.”
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