The 20th edition of Riot Fest kicked off on Friday morning with clear skies and unseasonably high temps in the 80s in Douglass Park.
La Rosa Noir, a Chicago-based band with ties to the nearby neighborhood of Little Village, made their festival debut on the Roots Stage early Friday. The post-punk group performed “Heart On My Sleeve,” a single released earlier Friday.
“This is incredible,” said front woman and guitarist Yeshi Regalado. “A childhood dream come true.”
Friday’s lineup includes headliners Blink-182, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Alkaline Trio and Rico Nasty, among dozens of other artists.
Several fans arriving early for Day 1 came dressed in Blink-182 tees, Team Mexico fútbol jerseys and Palestinian keffiyehs. And of course, plenty of attendees came clad in head-to-toe black outfits, including lace skirts, tops and stockings.
Beverages from the various punk establishments around the city (including Delilah’s, Liar’s Club, Reggies and Cobra Lounge) can be purchased throughout the festival, too.
There’s also plenty of local brands represented at the Riot Fest Flea Market. Chicago design company Harebrained, for example, is selling fun T-shirts with nods to Jewel-Osco and Pope Leo XIV.
For a second year in a row, Riotland is open. There’s carnival rides and food, such as bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, a photo booth, funnel cakes, turkey legs and more.
In April, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners granted Riot Fest a three-year permit to continue to stage the event in Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive, brushing aside critics who voiced their concerns ahead of the vote.
Residents near the park had mixed feelings about the three-year deal. Some who expressed longstanding concerns over trash, noise and traffic were disappointed because their voices haven’t been taken into account. But others say they don’t mind the festival as a neighbor.
Despite the controversy, Riot Fest — now in its 20th year — seems like it’s here to stay as it continues to embrace its punk rock roots with a stacked lineup that combines legacy bands with newer acts, unique entertainment like NWA wrestling matches, and the return of the John Stamos butter statue (and apparently, after years of taunts, the man himself is making an appearance in the flesh on Saturday).
Here are a few highlights from Riot Fest’s stages on Friday.
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic
“Weird Al” Yankovic wasn’t kidding when he promised to bring the Bigger & Weirder Tour for his Riot Fest debut. Emphasis on “bigger.”
The much-needed comic relief offered by his 90-minute set drew one of the biggest crowds ever at the Rise Stage — on Friday renamed the “Weird Al’s Weird World Stage” for the man of the hour and curated with his personal picks like Puddles Pity Party and Mac Sabbath.
Huge throngs wanting in on the jokes pushed back to the softball gates while kids climbed trees to get a view of the accordion-wielding goofball. His creative genius was on full display with some of his biggest hits (or rips of biggest hits as they may be), complete with costumes. For “Smells like Nirvana,” Yankovic donned the visage of Kurt Cobain with a blonde wig and that infamous striped sweater. For the Miley Cyrus riff “Party in the CIA,” he suited up like one of the Men in Black. For the Michael Jackson-style “I’m Fat,” which followed “Eat It,” he donned a fat suit and had a guest spot from Santa. For “White & Nerdy,” a take on “Ridin’,” he rode in on a Segway. An encore of “The Saga Begins” (“American Pie”) was a full-on Star Wars cosplay. Weird Al also took on current and former Riot Fest alums, including the Canadian version of Green Day’s “American Idiot” and a tribute to the late Coolio with “Amish Paradise.”
The amount of dizzying hits gave credence to his title as the king of song parody, as were the loud laughs that were the most serious healing thing all day. — Selena Fragassi
Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley is back!
If that’s a name you haven’t heard in nearly 20 years, well, none of us have. The last time the indie rock darlings were active was circa 2007, before a global pandemic and the current political climate and all the things that really made us need a “silver lining.”
After reuniting for LA’s Just Like Heaven Festival in May, the band (made of once-child actors Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett, plus Pierre De Reeder and Jason Boesel) had such a great reception that they kept it going. Over the past few weeks they’ve embarked on an anticipated tour — some dates with Chicago’s own Natalie Bergman — bringing them to Riot Fest, where Lewis and Sennett took turns talking about how great it was to be back in the city.
Packing in a set full of gems like the pensive “The Execution of All Things,” the slinky rock banger “The Moneymaker,” the wandering “Dreamworld” and of course perennial hit “Silver Lining,” it naturally brought with it a feeling of nostalgia for the early aughts (one young person in the crowd carried a poster that shared her parents even named after the band) and professed an undying love to Lewis.
It’s safe to say she’s only gotten cooler as time has gone on — at Riot, she played around with a video camera, teasing the crowd with closeups that brought in some of the biggest cheers.
Lewis’ interim solo career has helped, of course, but seeing her front Rilo Kiley once more, in a trademark vintage pink dress and switching between guitar, bass and keys while serenading with her sugary vocals, something felt right with the world again. Though this time hopefully, Rilo Kiley will stay with us for the long haul.
“It’s crazy times in the world right now,” said Lewis before closing out the set. “We’re here for you.” — Selena Fragassi
Rico Nasty
The same Rico Nasty who sings about smacking a b**ch was shirking away from a bug on stage Friday afternoon. “It’s really big!” she declared, strutting away from it while looking back over her shoulder.
Perhaps it was part of the evolution everyone’s been talking about ever since the defiant rap-rocker released her new album “Lethal” in May.
As heard on tracks like “Crash” that she ponied up for Riot, Rico has dived head-first into a more pop, guitar-driven sound in some of her new material. It naturally falls in line with more introspective, wise and feminine lyrics that have matured with her (now 27, it’s still hard to believe Rico first started writing such hardheaded barbs from her bedroom at 19), but also in line with her latest cohorts.
“Lethal” was produced by Imad Royal, known for his work with The Chainsmokers and Panic! at the Disco, and it’s her first album on punk/emo label Fueled By Ramen alongside Fall Out Boy and Twenty-One Pilots. Not that there’s been a total changing of the guard — a personality as big as Rico’s doesn’t shrink that easy.
The “sugar trap” star is still there underneath the more polished look and was at her most venomous in the second half of the set on “Son Of A Gun” and “Smoke Break,” in which she spewed out a growl that didn’t even sound human. Adding in Doja Cat’s “Tia Tamera” also helped re-pivot the set that started out with dulled sound mix issues and a bit of low energy.
Riot Fest is the first date of Rico’s new tour and her first since diving into Hollywood (look for her debut on Apple TV+ series “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” coming soon). But give her time to get all riled up again. By the time she rolls back around again for a show at Metro on Oct. 1, all bets will be off. — Selena Fragassi
Mac Sabbath
It’s par for the course for Riot Fest punk bands to pack in a message. But while some rage against the political machine, Mac Sabbath takes on the fast-food machine.
The Black Sabbath tribute/Ronald McDonald parody act traveled all the way from “Birmingham Burger,” England, (in reality, L.A.) with a purpose.
“In the time of GMOs and greedy corporations … the world calling is out for a hero to warn of the evils of drive-thru dinner,” said an omnipresent narrator to begin the set. “He is Ronald Osbourne.”
Featuring a ragtag band of “Monsanto mutants,” Slayer MacCheeze, Grimalice and the Cat Burglar, the four-piece tore through their comedic fast-food takedowns using Sabbath’s material, serving up hot puns like their foe serves Happy Meals.
Tracks like “Sweet Beef” (Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”) and “Frying Pan” (“Iron Man”) were not just fun torchbearers of one of the greatest catalogs in heavy metal but were also accompanied by ridiculous Gwar-ian props like vomiting sound effects, mutilated rubber chickens and a smoking grill for flipping sausages in an actual frying pan.
Osbourne squirted water on the crowd from ketchup and mustard bottles and talked disparagingly of their nonexistent competition like Cinnabon Jovi, My Morning Jack in The Box, Avenged 7-11-Fold and My Chemical Cool Ranch. Later, he dove into the pit and crowd-surfed, coasting his way back to the day’s “Weird Al” takeover stage on a Big Mac beach ball.
By the end, the four-piece paused the hijinks for a proper tribute, performing Sabbath’s “Paranoid” the way it was written to high applause, with the wounds still fresh after Ozzy Osbourne’s passing two months ago.
“I don’t believe I have to tell you who the set is dedicated to,” said the singer in his faux Brit accent. “Every set we’ve done the past 11 years has been dedicated to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath.”
It was the set’s most well-done moment. — Selena Fragassi
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