Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Year Zero’ Tried to Predict 2022. What Did It Get Right?
A look into the themes found across the band’s 2007 release, where Trent Reznor wrote about a dystopian, totalitarian 2022Sometime in the mid ’00s, Trent Reznor saw the writing on the wall. It didn’t spell out anything good. In 2000, human sock puppet George W. Bush was essentially installed as President by the Supreme Court after losing the popular vote. He was re-elected in 2004, coasting on a post-9/11 wave of jingoism, racism, and…
Find Your 2022 Tickets with Riot Fest’s Shitty Scavenger Hunt
Follow the clues. Find the tickets. Attend our shitty music festival.Contest time! We’ve hidden Riot Fest 2022 tickets across Chicago’s smelliest landmarks. Each location has an envelope containing a pair of 3-Day passes—but you’ll have to find them before anyone else does! Scroll through the photos below for a hint of each location (there’s 8 total); we’ll be dropping hints throughout the day on our…
Riot Fest’s Shitty Merch Dump is Here
Scoop up some fresh new drip (including a limited-edition toilet seat) via RiotBrand.orgNo matter what we do, who we book, or how much we please you people, there’s always someone who sees our lineup and says the same thing every year: “It’s shit.” So today, Chicago’s #2 Music Festival is proud to present the “It’s Shit!” Merch Dump, featuring a collection of new designs—and some very-limited, yes-we-really-made-them…
You’re Wondering Now: JER’s Essential Ska Playlist
Catch JER and Lincoln Hall this Thursday, June 2 at Reggies Rock ClubSka bands get a lot of unnecessary shit. No one knows this better than Jeremy Hunter (AKA JER, of Skatune Network fame), who has been at the forefront of a major ska punk resurgence over past few years—and on the front lines of a major effort to redefine the genre. If one were to seek…
The Douglass Park Beautification Initiative: Volunteer and Get Riot Fest Tickets
Douglass Park and North Lawndale residents can apply to work temporary positions—and for complimentary tickets—at Riot Fest 2022We’re looking for volunteers to help keep Douglass Park beautiful, in exchange for Riot Fest tickets! Information on Community Tickets and our annual Job Fairs are also now available.
Staff Picks: Books to Read for AAPI Heritage Month (Because I Said So)
A majority of my youth was spent reading and writing. Seldom did I see characters with the same complexion as me, were from the places I was from, or who spoke the languages I spoke. But thankfully, now the landscape of media has changed with more representation, due in part to the diverse makers and…
Go Where Eagles Dare: The Genius of the Misfits
How the founding horror punk band defied everything—and became immortalWhen the Misfits first came around, there was nothing in the world like them. The disco and soft rock filling the airwaves at the time was escapist at its core; the Misfits, meanwhile, shoved horrifying visions of violence in your face like a Clockwork Orange torture device. Other punk bands flirted with nihilism, but the…
The Riot Fest 2022 Album Plays: Misfits, Yellowcard, Menzingers, and More
It wouldn’t be Riot Fest without a dazzling array of full album performances, and this year will be no different. This year’s selections will give fans the rare opportunity to hear some unforgettably classic records. Here’s the list for 2022: ✶ THE ORIGINAL MISFITS – Walk Among Us (40th Anniversary)✶ YELLOWCARD – Ocean Avenue✶ THE MENZINGERS – On The Impossible Past (10th…
