SCROLL TO FIND YOUR NEW FAVORITE BAND
⇩
YOUR NEW FAVORITE BAND
Discovering new music is hard
JUMP AROUND ⇩
Your new favorite band is on this page: choose from playlists, hand-picked artists, or music recommendations for busy people.
Riot Fest has always been about more than just the fest; it’s about the experience of uncovering new favorites so you’re not listening to the same crap you did in high school, when you didn’t know anything.
With tens of millions of new songs and even more ‘content’ coming out every damn day, it’s impossible to find new, good shit–which is where we come in…
Hand-picked artists
The Riot talent buyers are the authority on new music. It’s literally their job, or else we will all starve to death.
Name a band. They’ve heard it. Name a woman. (They can.) They even know the side projects. They’ve already listened to hundreds of bands you’ll never know, and they’re only picking winners.
Are you extremely lazy?
We’ll personally recommend a band and a show to see.
You read that right.
Give us a few bands you like, and we might even hook you up with free tickets. (If you’re not a dickbag about it.)
HAND-PICKED ARTISTS TO HEAR FROM THE RIOT FEST TALENT BUYERS
Right here on this very spot, we’ll highlight a few artists straight from the Riot Fest talent buying brain trust. How do they find these artists?
No idea. I’m almost too afraid to ask.
We’ve got new picks for you! Check them out below.
Don’t like our picks?
We are used to not meeting expectations, but give us a few bands you like, and we’ll try again.
Jake’s Picks
Ada Lea – Damn
Very chill, and very catchy!
Microwave – Let’s Start Degeneracy
The Dopamines – Save Your Beers
Previous Picks
Sincere Engineer, Huge Euge, SPRINTS, Liquid Mike, Raue, Origami Angel, Gouge Away, Pinksqueeze, Dazy, Bilmuri, Spiritual Cramp, Jazmin Bean
Hannah’s Picks
Death Lens – Vacant
Gets me HYPED.
Mothé – WTF Is Up?
If you haven’t listened to them before, then you should.
Previous Picks
Home Front, Cursive, Sweet Pill, Princess Goes, bby, Jackie Hayes, Hot Mulligan, Bilmuri, Winona Fighter, Death Lens, Jhariah, Teen Jesus and The Jean Teasers
Marc’s Picks
All of Marc’s picks are worthy of your time. Marc has been around the biz so long, that he probably booked all your favorite shows when you were a kid too, so be nice to Marc.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Wild God
Another absolute masterpiece from Nick Cave. Darkly optimistic psychedelically and emotional spiritual journey. Listen from front to back. Repeat. Key songs: Frogs, Wild God, Cinnamon Horses
Brigitte Calls Me Baby – The Future Is Our Way Out
Chicago’s Own Brigitte Calls Me Baby put out a flawless The House is Made of Four Corners EP, and I was hooked. They somehow followed it up with an even more realized identity with their full length album, The Future Is Our Way Out. Part Morrissey, part Orbison, this is a nostalgic leap into the next generation of new wave. Key Songs: We Were Never Alive, Eddie My Love, I Wanna Die in the Suburbs
Drug Church – Prude
The latest from the Drug Church camp. Clever lyrics. Incredible hooks, and everything you need from one of the greatest live bands out there today. Key Songs: Demolition Man, Chow
Fontaines D.C. – Romance
The new sound of post punk. They are one of the most inspiring true rock bands out there. Key Songs: Starburster, Favourite
Previous Picks
People R Ugly, Many Eyes, Ducks Ltd., Rosegarden Funeral Party, Frank Turner, MUNYA, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, SCAM LIKELY, Convert, Rustbelt, Militarie Gun, Kerry King, Yard Act, Scam Likely, Morta Skuld
Playlists Made For You
Upcoming Shows in Chicago + Milwaukee
Our concert calendar is filled with artists worth seeing, and the accompanying playlist gets 3 to 5 weekly updates. Check back weekly to hear new music from all of the bands. (Also on YouTube)
Under The Radar Artists + Bands
If you’re looking for unknown bands so you look cool in front of all your friends Under The Radar with Taylor Nicole AKA Gothsconsin has a playlist updated each month.
Good Bands Who Sent Us Their Music
Mo runs our TikTok, and when they’re not doing that, they’re Listening To Your Band Cause You Asked Nicely. Less than 5% of the artists submitted get featured. Listen to the 2024 artists below and 2023 bands are also on Spotify + Apple.
Weekly Playlists From Spotify Bots
If none of the above speaks to you, you can always look at the Discover Weekly (Apple) and Release Radar (Apple) playlists from the mostly-stupid-machine-learning™ over there at Spotify.
Release Radar updates every Friday based on our listening history, and the rarely good Discover Weekly updates every Monday.
UNDER THE RADAR
It’s 2024, and Spotify’s musical jungle is denser than ever with over 90 million tracks. (Yep, we counted. Sort of.) Trying to find the good stuff via AI-generated playlists is like searching for a needle in a haystack the size of a small planet.
But fear not! With Taylor’s help, we’ll pluck the pearls from the deep ocean of “meh” and serve them up on a platter of awesome that deserves your ear time.
THE STAFF PICKS… MUSIC FOR YOU
How it works
- Use the form below to tell us a few bands you like
We secretly mock your music preferences behind your back- Periodically, the staff will select one lucky person to get band recommendations from the whole Riot staff
- Recommendations will be based on what you sent us
- We’ll email you the picks, and publish them on RiotFest.org
- You enjoy the new band + possibly free tickets to see them
- Everyone wins!
