Riot Fest
Douglass Park // Chicago, IL // September 18-20, 2026

This was undoubtedly Riot Fest’s muddiest year.

On the first day of Riot Fest, as thousands of fans rushed to see Motion City Soundtrack, Foxy Shazam, and Twenty One Pilots, the festival grounds were bone dry. People spread blankets on the ground and crowd surfed with no fears of falling face first into piles of mud. The same could not be said for Saturday and Sunday. 
Riot Fest is Chicago’s most reliable festival. As a fan, you’re guaranteed to see some of the same faces year after year, like Chicago’s own Rise Against, Taking Back Sunday, and Bad Religion. You’re also going to see some literal legends like Patti Smith, Tool, and Elvis Costello. Throw in some (delightful) wild cards like Santigold, Angine de Poitrine, and The Format, and you’ve got a crazy diverse lineup.  Friday’s crowd consisted of emo girls, scene kids, and hard rock aficionados, all racing to be front row for their favorite bands. Riot Fest also bridges the gap between generations; you’re just as likely to see Gen Alphas and Gen Xers taking shots of Malort by the John Stamos butter statue (thank you Riot Fest for creating a world where I can write this sentence). 

Saturday’s crowd was just as boisterous, but the day was unfortunately cut short due to impending storms. Bands like Afroman weren’t able to perform (much to his vocal disappointment), but fans were treated to a rare daytime Tool set. Seeing Maynard James Keegan while the sun is out is like seeing Bigfoot when you’re camping. It’s just unheard of. Luckily, most of the bands were able to play before the storms, and Douglass Park was (mostly) empty once the storms rolled in. 

Sunday, though. Sunday was one for the books. If you’ve ever seen photos of Woodstock ’99 or any given year of Glastonbury, you’d get the same vibes (minus the rioting at Woodstock, ironically). Die hard fans wore rainboots and ponchos like they were ready for round two of GWAR, and a few people even laid down in the mud to get the full experience. The photo pits were (understandably) limited because of the muck, but the headliners were able to play without any issues. If you got to see Alanis Morissette sing “Uninvited” while the Chicago mud ate your boots, consider yourself truly blessed.

Riot Fest will be back next year, hopefully with a bit less mud and a bit more William Shatner. We had some Shatner this year, but we could always use more.

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