Riot Fest 2025 is quickly approaching. As Chicago’s premier music festival for punk, rock, metal, and alternative music, fans were shocked to see that the festival would be moving to SeatGeek stadium in Bridgeview- close to an hour drive outside of the city, and largely inaccessible by public transit. After some uproar about the change, Riot Fest announced that they would be moving back North Lawndale’s Douglass Park, which has housed the festival since 2015.
I attended my first Riot Fest in 2018, and the festival truly changed my life forever. Overwhelmed by the experience of community, joy, and artistic expression, Riot Fest would become a significant factor in my decision to pursue a career in the music industry. I have attended every year since, so as a self-proclaimed Riot Fest expert, as well as Radio DePaul’s music director, here are my must-see sets for this year’s festival.
FALL OUT BOY
Hometown heroes Fall Out Boy are returning to Riot Fest as Friday night’s headliner this year. The Chicago band headlined Riot Fest in 2013, and played their last Chicago date at Wrigley Field in June 2023 on the So Much for (Tour) Dust run. This might be the last Fall Out Boy hometown show for a little while, so you know they are going to bring their best– and you would not want to miss former DePaul student Pete Wentz on the Riot Fest stage.
LISTEN TO: “Chicago is So Two Years Ago”
HEART ATTACK MAN
Cleveland band Heart Attack Man will be opening the Radical stage on Saturday at Riot Fest this year. Having recently toured with bands like Microwave, Origami Angel, and Hot Mulligan (who you can catch at Riot Fest on Friday), Heart Attack Man continues to be one of the most promising bands in the 5th wave emo scene. Frontman Eric Egan is sure to start out the day with a high energy set, so arrive early for the full experience.
LISTEN TO: “Like A Kennedy”
BASEMENT
Basement’s 2012 album Colormeinkindness is one of the most influential albums on the emo/post-hardcore scene of the 2010s. Combining a heavy, grunge inspired dark sound with the catchy qualities of emo and pop punk, Basement is bound to play a hard-hitting set on Saturday afternoon. You can also catch guitarist Alex Henery with supergroup Fiddlehead on Sunday.
LISTEN TO: “Covet”
ST. VINCENT
Still contending for one of my favorite albums of 2024, St. Vincent will play a Saturday night set at Riot Fest this year, as she tours on the aforementioned All Born Screaming. Known for elaborate stage design and virtuosic guitar work– she was named by Rolling Stone as one of the best guitar players of all time in 2023– St. Vincent returns to Chicago for the first time since Pitchfork Music Festival in 2021 for a set that is sure to be a festival highlight. If you’re lucky, you might be able to catch her after show at Metro on Wednesday night too.
LISTEN TO: “Broken Man”
SPRINTS
This Irish post-punk band will be playing early on Sunday, but you definitely do not want to miss their set. Letter to Self, the band’s 2024 release, is monumental as a debut album. I was not able to make their sold out Schubas show in March, but I will not be making that mistake again, as this band is going to continue to gain traction with any fans of noisy tracks to get your blood pumping.
LISTEN TO: “Ticking”
GEL
Even though I am not allowed to add hardcore to our Radio DePaul rotation (apparently some people do not like to hear screaming on the radio), that does not mean that I will not tell people to listen to New Jersey hardcore heroes GEL every chance that I get. The circle pit at GEL’s set on Sunday will be the place to be. I highly recommend this set to any Riot Fest attendees, even if hardcore punk is not normally your speed.
LISTEN TO: “Guided Meditation”
Some other highly anticipated sets for this year’s Riot Fest include three nights of NOFX as a farewell tour, and the return of Slayer, who have not played in Chicago since Riot Fest 2019. Riot Fest will be September 20-22 this year, and it is the ideal way to close out your Chicago festival season.