Festivals
Riot Fest Turns 20 With A Wild 2025 Lineup
Riot Fest is hitting the big 2-0. What started in 2005 as a scrappy little punk fest has blown up into a full-blown institution, and it’s back at Chicago’s Douglass Park from September 19–21 to celebrate two decades of chaos, nostalgia, and guitar feedback.
The headliners this year are blink-182, Green Day, and Weezer doing The Blue Album. That’s stadium-size singalongs every night.
The next tier is stacked too: The Sex Pistols (with Frank Carter up front), Rilo Kiley (yes, really), Knocked Loose, The Beach Boys, The Pogues (touring with guests after Shane MacGowan’s passing), Jack White, IDLES, Jawbreaker, Bad Religion, The Hold Steady, Texas Is The Reason (reunion show #3), Dance Hall Crashers (another reunion), Alkaline Trio, The Wonder Years, The Front Bottoms, James, Sparks, and a curious mid-poster slot for “Weird Al” Yankovic.
And the small print’s where things get wild. Shudder To Think are reuniting. Hanson’s there, The Damned, The Bouncing Souls, Rico Nasty, Screeching Weasel, Citizen, Microwave, Free Throw, Dehd, The Linda Lindas, Panchiko, Buzzcocks, Superchunk, Touché Amoré, Militarie Gun, The Cribs, Helmet, Marky Ramone, Agnostic Front, and more punk lifers and newcomers than you can cram onto a jean vest.
Local heroes like Pegboy, Didjits, and The Effigies round out the Chicago flavor.
Tickets are on sale now. Plan your outfits, prep your earplugs, and maybe call your chiropractor, this one’s gonna hurt in the best way!
