2026 Early Turkey Ticket + Merch Presale On Sale Now!
Riot Fest 2026 Early Bird Presale is on sale NOW! Get your tickets, gobble gobble.
Staff Picks: Matt Freeman’s 10 Essential Punk Bass Licks
The Operation Ivy & Rancid bassist bring his new band Charger to Cobra Lounge on June 16One look through Matt Freeman’s album credits is enough to fill a whole shelf under your turntable. His unique style of playing bass—heavily utilizing scales and arpeggios—has always stood out in the world of punk rhythm sections. Since co-founding a little-known band called Operation Ivy, Freeman is best known for his 30+ year career with…
We’re Hiring! Sign Up at Riot Fest’s 2022 Job Fairs
And if you live nearby, sign up for complimentary tickets to Riot Fest 2022We’re seeking residents from North Lawndale and Douglass Park-adjacent communities to work in temporary positions during this year’s festival. Applications are now live; apply below or send in this PDF form to [email protected]. Applications are due August 17. In addition: we’d like to remind neighbors that those who live within the four block radius of Douglass…
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Have a New Album Coming Out This September
Their first record in 9 years arrives September 30; Listen to the lead single “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”Just in time for Riot Fest, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have graced us with a brand-new single: “Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” their first release in 9 years. The song is the first single off their upcoming fifth studio album Cool It Down (out September 30), as well as their first release with…
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.
