Riot Fest used to be the little punk festival that could, and where you could always count on seeing punk legends Naked Raygun on the bill (or so it seemed). Truth be told, that was usually the only reason we needed to attend. You could tell the fest was gathering momentum, though, as more and more rock heavyweights were being added to the bill each year.
This year, however, Riot Fest organizers have literally blown the roof off the dump with their announcement of this year's festival bill. For starters, you've got both Iggy & The Stooges and Elvis Costello named as headliners. As if that weren't enough, while the fest will open on September 14 at the Congress Theatre (where the fest has also been held in past years), the rest of the fest will take place outdoors in Humboldt Park on September 15 and 16. Oh, and there will be a carnival, too.
If you ask us - which you didn't but that never stopped us before - Riot Fest now seems to be filling the gaping hole left by Lollapalooza's complete transformation into a safe, vanilla-flavored music fest being sold as an edgy music fest to people who are about as edgy as a sippy cup.
Seriously, look at this line-up:
The Jesus & Mary Chain Alkaline Trio NOFX The Gaslight Anthem The Promise Ring The Descendents Fishbone Reverend Horton Heat
Those bands alone are enough to leave you emotionally and physically spent over the course of three days, but there's more to come, as the fest will be naming additional headliners soon.
The best part, though, is the price. A 3-Day pass runs you only $90. The 2-Day pass to all Humboldt Park shows is just $36 if you act now. That's just $18 a day, folks! That wouldn't even buy you parking for Lollapalooza!