Since its humble, multi-venue origins in 2005, Chicago’s Riot Fest has graduated to an elite tier of US festivals. These days, the beloved punk, metal, hip-hop, and alternative rock often comes in with huge lineups that feel alien to the bookings found at other festivals throughout the country. Nabbing stellar reunions, unmissable farewells, and novel full-album performances, the event is wholly unique.
The announcement of Riot Fest 2024 came with a bit of a twist, as the event was to relocate from its longtime home of Douglass Park to the further-south Seatgeek Stadium. But fans of the festival lobbied for it to return to Douglas, and last month, Riot Fest confirmed they’d be back at their original venue for the 2024 edition, citing “the overwhelming support” the festival had received from “the City of Chicago and our fans.”
That means that Riot Fest will once more bring swaths of moshers, guitar-lovers, and pretty much every subculture of punk back to Douglass Park from September 20th to 22nd. This year boasts headlining performances from a reunited Slayer, Windy City natives Fall Out Boy, and the one-two punch of ’90s heroes Pavement and Beck. On top of that, NOFX will be playing all three days as a part of their farewell jaunt; Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace will play an entire set of Operation Ivy songs with help from Catbite; and The Offspring, Manchester Orchestra, and Mastodon will treat fans to album play-throughs of their biggest records.
With the schedule officially out, it’s clear there will be a ton to see from minute-to-minute at Riot Fest this year. While many performances across the fest’s five stages will be worthy watches, we’ve nailed down 10 sets (listed in alphabetical order) that we dub can’t-miss at Riot Fest 2024. Make sure you don’t miss out by grabbing tickets here.
Or, for another chance to catch these sure-to-be killer sets, we’re giving away a pair of VIP passes to Riot Fest 2024! Enter here before September 16th.