Hellllooooo Chicagoans and beyond! In the year of our lord (William Shatner), I return to Riot Fest 2026 located in Douglass Park, Illinois on assignment for LoudHER Media to report the damages done to my boots.
In all seriousness, let me just state first and foremost how exciting it is for us as a growing publication to be invited to cover this multi day rock fest, I’m so pumped that my first article with this amazing outlet is a festival I’ve been going to for six years now, and every year is met with new amazing experiences and surprises!
Day 1: The Calm before the Storm
Day one of the west side festival started delightfully dry with great outlooks for the event. We started the day off with some great bands opening up five grand stages. Cardinals, Teen Mortgage, and Glixen along with the likes of many other growing names debuted themselves in front of thousands of eager festival goers. The entire three day trilogy was a mix of post hardcore, grunge, punk, heavy rap, folk punk, pop punk, emo and more spanning many genres under the alternative sub category.
I squeezed myself into the Bayside mosh pit first, and might I say on top of this band being a early Y2K emo staple, these guys still kick it hard and host an amazing mud party. The ambience was absolutely electric and they never disappoint, playing all the crowd favorite like Blame it On Bad Luck, Duality, Montauk, and more.
I was lucky enough to be able to catch Chicago N1 of their ‘Errors Tour’ a while back and just as eager to see their set this time around.
After coating myself in a nice thin layer of sweat and Old Style, I wandered my way over to the specialty bars hosted by some of the alcohol vendors for a little boost in my day.
A *very important* stop was made over at the Monaco booth to sample some of their flavors they brought out. I was able to try the Citrus Rush and Pornstar Crush, both of which are vodka based but nonetheless deliciously fruity and refreshing. My friends and I decided that they tasted more like a Redbull than a cocktail and I’m here for anything that goes down easy.
The Beatbox booth was also pretty incredible, I loved the colorful displays and decorations on their bar, they definitely get 10 points for marketing. They even had a live photo wall where they’ll take your picture and turn you into a keychain for FREE! I had to rep LoudHER and throw us on the wall, see photos below.
Some other late afternoon acts I made sure to catch were my favorites, Motion City Soundtrack, All American Rejects, and Foxy Shazam. All of which are the most vibrant performers.
It’s always amazing getting to see iconic names play hit after hit for 30 minutes, I was even able to crowd surf a few times through packed seas of eager fans! I absolutely had the best time getting some photos from the pits, a perspective I’ve never been brave enough to venture into before.
A new band I discovered this weekend was Guttermouth, a classic 90’s Cali Punk band that has some pretty shocking songs, “Cram It Up Your Ass” and “Toilet” being some of their more offensive song titles. But do not let these names deter you, these guys were professional performers that kept a full crowd delightfully entertained as they took the Rise Stage.
Honorable mentions of the night that could easily headline any festival, are Rise Against and Alkaline Trio. Both had done an incredible job of keeping the Elder Emo Crowd alive and well as we entered the evening sets. I think they were the perfect toppers for day one and the best possible precursor to some of the headliners.
Capping off the night with a performance that just…blew me out of the water for lack of better words was Twenty One Pilots.
Everything from lighting and set design, to Tyler Joseph’s entry wardrobe was entirely magical and a full on production. I rarely ever get the feeling of my breath being taken away by just the sight of a concert, but this entire set was truly just so wonderful.
Energetically, Tyler quite literally pops out of nowhere onto the stage, and has the COOLEST glowing microphone, illuminated by the glow of a dim red light. Oh, and FYI, Josh Dunn very well might actually be one of the best drummers on the planet.
To have the stage chemistry and presence that these two share is so uniquely special I definitely consider myself a TOP fan from that day forward. You know, not to be dramatic.
It goes without mentioning that there were also some other iconic headliners that were also extremely well deserving of their flowers as well. Although I was preoccupied being absolutely jaw dropped by TOP, GWAR came out and happily decapitated our supreme ruler Trump on stage(my personal favorite). Pixies nailed their performance and I was so so sad to miss one of my favorite songs Where Is My Mind?
Last but not least, the godfather of punk, vocal legend Iggy Pop came out and ruled the stage into oblivion with an earth shaking performance. At age 80 years old, Iggy holds such an incredibly special spot in the hearts of alternative weirdos everywhere, and in a trailblazer in this community, his presence was well appreciated.
Day 2: The Rain Storm
Okay, day two, I came into unsuspecting with some sneakers. Albeit, the mud wasn’t that bad…yet. But, I prevailed and trudged on.
This day was girl-band heavy, my favorite Canadian girl punks Nobro opened up the Rebel Stage on Saturday, and delivered a fresh femme positive performance.
I was able to interview them about a year or two ago and I can say that they are so inspiring and delightful, they bring so much fun and spunk to the stage and if they ever needed another band member or full time cheerleader: Nobro, please call me.
Inspired by the shared joy of female camaraderie, I decided to head on over to Destroy Boys immediately and was overjoyed to be apart of the femme/non binary mosh pit. There is fewer things that bring me more joy in life than being in a mosh pit where I’m not pushing against the smelliest rough men on the planet.
I discovered Destroy Boys’ music a while ago and on top of them having great music and being powerhouses in this community, they are also just so cool. Seriously, they are so good on stage and they just do cool so well. Props to them.
The rain started to pour in at this point and the day got a little misaligned, so I switched gears and headed over to see Less Than Jake. I think that the last thing I expected this weekend was that a Ska band would have the most crowd surfers of the day but I think they might be a contender.
Ska is one of my favorite genres and It’s a nice break from some of the hardcore similarities that can kind of lump together in these rock festivals, Less Than Jake has been performing since the 90’s and I’m glad to see that they’re carrying on the torch of spunky 90’s brass and checkerboards.
Speaking of Ska, If you haven’t heard of Slavic punk band Gogol Bordello, let me introduce you. Uniting the world from Manhattan, Gogol Bordello showcases members from all different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
With songs like “Immigraniada” that jerk emotions about immigration struggles from first hand experiences, it is important in the US that we shine the spotlight on bands that use their voices for political commentary because music is political.
One of my favorite Gogol songs is “Start Wearing Purple“, a classic to the namesake and is filled with an easy to clap along to stompy beat that looked even more fun on stage to be apart of. Genuinely, all of their eight members looked so ecstatic to be performing. On top of the full stage, GB brought out girl bosses Puzzled Panther to bring even more fire.
Also — shout out to my new photographer friend I met in the pit!
One of my favorite go-tos for political recognition and pro leftism is Descendants. Led by educated and experienced 80’s punks, Descendants highlight criticizing economic flaws and social disparity along with songs about living the life of a beach teen and progression of life.
Most famously known for their song “Good Good Things” they performed their 2996 album “Everything Sucks” in its entirety.
Rather than trying to fight the Tool fans for a barricade spot, I ended up getting cozy at the Radical Stage for a band that’s been on my bucket list for quite some time, and that is Bright Eyes.
I can’t begin to describe how identical Conor Oberst’s voice sounds in person to every recording I’ve ever heard but he truly does just sound so much like himself, and for that it made the experience so great as a Bright Eyes lover.
Day 3: Mud Slide
Day three was a spectacle to witness. I’m sure it’s rained on Riot Fest weekend before in the past but this might be record breaking levels of mud.
Naturally, with the rain in tow, the festival wisely postponed gates opening and sadly some acts got cut in the beginning of the day.
I arrived in time to catch the Midwest emo kinds Saturdays at Your Place who gained popularity from their 2023 record “Always Cloudy” which featured the song ‘Tarot Cards‘. The band now has a recent album from last year that just prove their talent and lyrical skills age like fine wine.
At this point, my camera’s foggy, I’ve got mud up to my knees, and I’m convinced this is Woodstock ’99.
Honorable mention for Patti Smith and her band because they totally took me into their fan cult and I could not be happier. All I heard throughout the day around me was how Patti has the most incredible vocal capability and always has.
Hailing from Chicago herself, she rose to fame back in the 70’s with her song ‘Because the Night’ and has continued making a crater sized impact in the Punk world.
Think of one album that is the sound of 2007 wrapped up in 63 minutes. You’re right, it’s Louder Now by Taking Back Sunday!
Adam Lazzara is the grunge emo musician of the decade, and clearly loves what he does. He even still strangles himself with the mic cable and it makes me slightly nervous guys.
The entire album Louder Now is well known hits across the board that made them staples of the emo/scene movement of the early 2000’s. TBS holds a multi year reigning permanent spot on the RF lineup year after year, I think it’s safe to say we’ll probably be seeing them next year as well.
Before the headliners took the stage, I wandered by a few more acts that I want to give a shoutout to.
Mom Jeans, William Shatner, and Alanis Morsette are all powerhouse performers that have a dedicated fanbase and have worked their way up the ranks of gaining the popularity they have today.
Captain Kirk came out with a truly wild rendition of Crazy Train and I’m so glad his record label pushed him to do this heavy metal album. I could not see the performance from all the tears of laughter.
Mom Jeans fans are insane, but rightfully so as this post hardcore poppy group has incredibly catchy tunes that are easy to dance along to and really just make you want to shove into everyone around you.
Alanis Morsette is just…ethereal beauty and a bundle of joy and energy with the voice of a siren. I still cannot believe they got her on this lineup.
Last but not least Pierce the Veil came out and had an unreal stage production of a show. I have an inkling that this is kinda their own version of an eras tour, and I’m here for it.
With an hour and a half long set, they took us all the way through their discography and knew exactly what the crowd wanted. Words cannot really describe the feeling of listening to songs like A Match into Water and Bulls in the Bronx in the rain so I’ll just post the pictures and you see for yourself.
And that is my Riot Fest 2026 recap! I hope you guys had a great time if you went and if not, maybe it’s best you stayed home and kept your shoes safe. Cheers until next year!
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