CHICAGO- Riot Fest 2025 went down in Douglass Park the weekend of September 19th and had many highlights like the Beach Boys taking the stage with John Stamos, Jack White ripping a solo set, or the return of Blink-182. However, one of its brightest aspects was the spotlight it put on the rapidly growing genre of modern hardcore punk.
Riot Fest has previously showcased contemporary hardcore punk bands in the past few years, featuring the crossover thrash band Drain in 2023 and Bay Area Beatdown mainstays Sunami in 2024. However, in 2025, they took the spotlight to the next level, moving the contemporary hardcore focus from the side stage in the early afternoon to the main stage at prime time, which was amazing to see.
Hardcore as a genre is growing rapidly due to the contributions of bands like Knocked Loose and Harms Way, who are consistently touring and spreading the genre. Whether it be the main stage of Riot Fest or touring local venues, elevating the bands they play with, like Fleshwater, Ingrown, and Militarie Gun (who also played Riot this year). Bigger hardcore bands can use their influence to put the spotlight on other bands in their genre, which creates the sense of community that hardcore is known for.
Seeing hardcore take the main stage at a Chicago institution, the level of Riot Fest, was amazing to see, as it showcases the growth of the hardcore scene, especially in Chicago, where Harms Way is local. Additionally, hardcore bands getting the spotlight at Riot paves the way for other modern and newer artists to gain attention from the industry.
Harms Way was on at the main Roots stage at 3:45 PM, which was when the crowd really began to gather for the first day of the festival. Harms Way is coming off their most recent LP release, the phenomenal “Common Suffering,” from September 2023. The album features metal-influenced hardcore cuts such as “Silent Wolf” and “Terrorizer,” which they played during the set. Harms Way’s stage presence is defined by lead singer James Pligge’s captivating stage presence as he is laser-focused on his devastating vocal delivery. Pligge uses a very unique but effective style of hardcore vocals, as he is using his guttural force to rip through his vocal passages. The Riot Fest set opened with “Human Carrying Capacity” off of their phenomenal 2018 release “Posthuman.”
A defining trait of the band has always been their locked-in groove. Their sound balances between exhibiting rhythmic power and giving great spacing quite well. The band stands uniquely for the way they have mixed their original influence of bands like Weekend Nachos, who leaned towards faster and sludgier styles of distortion, and other Straight Edge hardcore bands like Foundation, who had similarly organized rhythmically driven pacing.
Live, Harms Way reaches a captivating pace with the riffs of founding guitarist Bo Lueders driving the speed and power of the band. The band is consistently in sync as they rapidly switch between rhythmic pacing with a dynamic focus. The band is also fantastic at slowing down the pace into breakdowns, which take the main motif of the riff and brutalize the pacing, sending every hardcore fan into the mosh pit. Harms Way can consistently make a slower pace sound brutal and heavy with the strength of rhythm they contain, which really makes them unique among hardcore bands. The rhythmic versatility of the band’s live performance is a testament to how tenured they have been for the last decade in the world of hardcore.
“To see them take the main stage at Riot Fest and show how they have elevated Chicago’s hardcore scene by being one of the most popular and tenured bands from the city’s scene was just another reason why they are so amazing to watch. Harms Way was even added late to the festival, which was a great booking choice from Riot Fest’s team, as it gave the city’s hardcore scene a genuine band to be excited for.
Harms Way’s set also consisted of a brand new single, “Other World,” from May 2025, which is a great new sound for the band, though still rooted in the industrial hardcore style they are known for. Their use of noise sampling has always been great to add the industrial effect to their music, and the riffs on “Other World” are great, with a finale-style breakdown to end the track. This track really brought the energy to the mosh pit with its consistent rhythmic focus and grand breakdown.
The band closed their main stage set with “Become a Machine,” also from 2018’s “PostHuman,” which has become a set mainstay for the band over the years due to its iconic riffs and Pligge’s vocal delivery. “Become a Machine” is a phenomenal closer for the band as it is another great example of their rhythmic timing and consistent ability to crush with their dynamics.
Overall, this was a fantastic showcase set from one of Chicago’s premier hardcore bands, where they played hits from their career so far. In playing one of Chicago’s only left festival institutions, Harms Way has brought hardcore to the main stage in a genuine and effective way that will elevate the amount of eyes on the genre as it continues to grow rapidly.
Knocked Loose took the Roots stage at 7:25 PM for the co-headliner set, which was also their very first Riot Fest show. Lead singer Bryan Garris talked on stage about how Chicago was a “second home” to the band, as it is the largest city in proximity to their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. So it was a dream come true for them to play the institutional Riot Fest. Knocked Loose has been active with their brand of metalcore for over a decade, but recently off their 2024 release “You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To,” their popularity has grown with a huge surge, which is very well deserved for the band. Knocked Loose has been hard at work since their inception, touring and refining their sound, which has made co-headliner sets like this possible. They have also played bills with bands like Slayer, which they immediately followed the day after at Hersheypark.
“You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To” was a definite refinement in sound for the band as they took the next level in sonic focus to create a truly special album. While their previous release, 2019’s “A Different Shade of Blue,” was truly great hardcore, it felt like the band took a step up in versatility and creativity that was unique. Their Riot Fest set started with the scathingly aggressive track “Blinding Faith” off of their most recent LP release. The band’s sonics are strongly defined by lead guitarist Isaac Hale, who brings constant innovation to his guitar playing with how heavy he can get while still reigning in a genuine sense of songwriting and rhythmic cohesion.
The band is defined by brutal and devastating riffs from both Hale and rhythm guitarist Nicko Calderon, who joined the band in 2020. Knocked Loose stands uniquely in the hardcore genre due to their ability to take devastating riffs and bring a true sense of melodic rhythm, complementing singer Bryan Garris’s intense vocal attack. The true hybrid ability of the band is what defines highlights of their live set, such as Belleville and Deep in the Willow, whose balance of brutality and rhythmic focus makes for an insane feeling in a live setting.
Through years of consistent touring, the band has accumulated an imposing stage presence, especially when it comes to playing in smaller venues, like when they took Chicago’s famous local venue, the Metro’s stage, in 2021. The band has not always been playing Festival co-headliners, as they had to work through touring their own way for years before gaining traction outside of the hardcore community. Through this, they gained a genuine sense of stage presence even when it comes to huge venues like Riot Fest.
Knocked Loose has also been consistently supporting the hardcore genre as a whole, as they are very active in their local scene of Louisville, where LDB fest takes place, supported by Life and Death Brigade records. Through consistent support of the community, Knocked Loose puts more eyes on the community of hardcore through playing at larger festivals like Riot. Their set was great to witness as a fan of hardcore, as they played a mix of songs throughout their early career as well such as “Deadringer” and “Billy No Mates.” Their ability to be consistent and hardworking has elevated the community of hardcore that has greatly influenced their sound.
The band’s live energy is consistently top-notch as the riffs are often seen sending large crowds into the mosh pit. Riot Fest was also made into a gigantic mosh pit at the end of their set with the breakdown to their track “Everything is Quiet Now.” It is truly special to see that many people dance to the same music regardless of whether they are from a hardcore background or not.
Knocked Loose bridges the gap between the mainstream and the hardcore community really well in large settings, as their music is made accessible by their melodic focus to be able to demand attention from double-digit crowds . Knocked Loose was absolutely a highlight of this year’s Riot Fest, and the genre of hardcore got a ton of new eyes from them taking the main stage over in such a grand fashion.
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