Day lineups for Riot Fest Chicago 2015

Riot Fest Chicago 2015 Day Lineups Available

The day lineup for Riot Fest Chicago 2015 is now available! You can find out which artists are playing on which day so you can begin to tentatively prepare your schedules. In addition, Riot Fest will be releasing single day passes, VIP passes, and 2-day passes on Thursday, July 23rd at 10am CT here. In addition, Groupon is currently running a special pre-sale on single day passes for $69.98 here.

Check out the day lineups below!

FRIDAY
No Doubt, Faith No More, Motörhead, Ice Cube & Special Guests (performing Straight Outta Compton Remix), Alkaline Trio, Coheed and Cambria, Flogging Molly, Slightly Stoopid, Thrice, Dirty Heads, Anthrax, Eagles of Death Metal, Against Me!, Bayside, MEST, Atreyu, Lee Scratch Perry, The Expendables, Living Colour, Fishbone, Death, Mariachi El Bronx, Civ, Every Time I Die, Real Friends, 88 Fingers Louie, Mustard Plug, Into It. Over It., Post Malone with FKI, Chef’Special, Marmozets, Barb Wire Dolls, The Coathangers, Prayers, Speedy Ortiz, White Mystery, Main Attrakionz, Ground Up, Skinny Lister, Alex Wiley, Heems, Psalm One, Dreamers, Faulkner

SATURDAY
System of a Down, Iggy Pop, Rancid (performing …And Out Come The Wolves), Billy Idol, Taking Back Sunday, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Drive Like Jehu, Merle Haggard, Alexisonfire, The Academy Is… (performing Almost Here), The Lawrence Arms, Echo & the Bunnymen, Bootsy Collins’ Rubber Band, The Damned, Pennywise, The Devil Wears Prada, Mayday Parade, Babes in Toyland, Desaparecidos, The Joy Formidable, The Dead Milkmen, FIDLAR, Millencolin, American Nightmare, Swervedriver, GWAR, Lifetime, Joyce Manor, The Movielife, Steve Ignorant and Paranoid Visions, The Dear Hunter, The Ataris, Modern Life Is War (performing Witness), Fit For Rivals, Flatfoot 56, Teenage Bottlerocket, Chon, Counterpunch, Direct Hit!, Dirty Fences, Sleep On It, The Brokedowns, Meat Wave, Elway, Indian Handcrafts, PEARS, Gateway Drugs, Clowns

SUNDAY
Modest Mouse, The Prodigy, Snoop Dogg (performing Doggystyle), Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Tenacious D, L7, Stephen “Ragga” Marley, Kongos, Cypress Hill, Yelawolf, The Airborne Toxic Event, Manchester Orchestra, De La Soul, Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness, New Politics, Jimmy Cliff, Andrew W.K., Less Than Jake, The Thurston Moore Band, Morgan Heritage, Doomtree, Hum, Tarrus Riley, The Dwarves, Tommy Stinson, Kevin Devine, Jo Mersa, Alvvays, The White Buffalo, Black-Am-I, Skip Marley, Knuckle Puck, Jazz Cartier, Have Mercy, Superheaven, Foxing, Beach Slang, Cayetana, Blis, Northern Faces, Souvenirs, Skating Polly, Signals Midwest, Modern Chemistry, Tasha The Amazon, Foxtrott, Twin River, Indian School


Riot Fest 2015

Riot Fest 2015 Lineups Revealed

It's been a busy month for Riot Fest organizers as they went from facing problems with Humboldt Park to being named USA Today's top summer music festival to eventually relocating to Douglas Park for their flagship Chicago festival. Finally, after incessant badgering on Twitter, the first wave of the Riot Fest 2015 lineup has been revealed. Some of the announced headliners are a bit surprising, considering the festival's typical M.O. However, it just further illustrates how large and popular the festival has grown over the past few years.

Riot Fest Chicago highlights include a few bands performing full albums like Rancid playing ...And Out Come the Wolves, Snoop Dogg playing Doggystyle, Ice Cube (and guests) performing NWA's Straight Outta Compton, The Academy Is... performing Almost Here, and The Dwarves performing Blood Guts and Pussy. Other musical highlights include No Doubt, Tenacious D, Modest Mouse, Motorhead, Less Than Jake, Modern Life is War, Lifetime, Cypress Hill, and local acts like Alex Wiley, Into It. Over it., and Psalm One.

Riot Fest Toronto highlights include Alexisonfire, Wu-Tang Clan, Tyler, the Creator, and Coheed and Cambria.

Riot Fest Denver highlights include Modest Mouse, Iggy Pop, Flogging Molly, Alkaline Trio, and Pixies.

Pre-sale tickets are already sold out, but you can still find 3-day passes for Chicago, Denver, and Toronto.


blink-182 Riot Fest photo taken by Geoff Henao

Riot Fest Chicago is Moving to Douglas Park

The dust has settled and the official verdict is in: Riot Fest is saying goodbye to Humboldt Park and hello to Douglas Park.

Mike Petryshyn, co-founder of the recently named Best Music Festival in the US, released a statement about the festival's move to North Lawndale:

In my very first meeting with Alderman Cardenas, I was happy that we were discussing logistical details and how we could enrich the community. Quite frankly, I was silently ecstatic. He gets it and it was genuine. Our goal has always been to leave a positive impact in the community we call home by helping local independent businesses, hiring ward residents and making an impact year-round. We did that in our previous home and plan to do the same — if not more — in the community surrounding Douglas Park and the 12th Ward.

As soon as we started discussing community, it was refreshing to see George get up from his desk and start pointing on the ward map to the local businesses we need to meet and have a formal introduction.  He was excited and so was I.  To have an an elected official see clearly how we can bring good things is humbling. To be appreciated for who we are—as people running an indie company and a festival—by the him and all of the supporters has been inspiring.

The strife between Riot Fest organizers and Alderman Maldonado of the 26th Ward (where Humboldt Park is located) has been well-noted since last year's festival that left the park with thousands of dollars in damages. And while the festival is committed to repairing the park, Maldonado and other Humboldt Park residents were vocal with their opposition to the festival's return despite overwhelming support that resulted in over 8,000 signatures (ours included) to keep the festival in Humboldt.

Riot Fest also announced the lineup for this year's festival will be released next week, ensuring a busy Riot Fest-related news month ends on a high note.

You can read the festival's official announcement here.


Riot Fest 2014 The Crombies by Geoff Henao (3 of 8)

USA Today and 10Best Name Riot Fest Best Music Festival

This post was originally published by our affiliate site, Chicago Music.

Riot Fest has consistently been Chicago's best music festival for the past few years, and finally, the festival has been recognized for doing so. USA Today and 10Best have named Riot Fest the country's Best Music Festival as voted by fans, beating out other festivals like Electric Forest Festival and Bonnaroo. Notable music festivals like Chicago's Lollapalooza and Pitchfork Music Festival, Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest, Austin City Limits, and SXSW, and California's Coachella didn't make the Top 10.

The accolades come at an uncomfortable time for Riot Fest organizers as they are currently facing some backlash from some Humboldt Park residents and Ald. Roberto Maldonado over the damage caused to the park from last year's festival. A change.org petition was recently started to keep the festival at Humboldt Park, but it appears that it's been taken down. Nevertheless, despite any opposition, Riot Fest has plenty of support. Being named the country's best music festival goes to show just how much the festival and its organization have grown over the past 10 years. Here's to 10 more!

[via 10Best]


[RH Photos] The Orwells at Schubas (6/20/2014)

Photos by AngieStar Photo

Rock and Roll: a term used time and time again amongst people of all ages. For my parents and their friends, its definition was once one of rebellion and even an edge for danger. The pelvic thrusts of Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger’s wild movement around the stage, the grunge tones of Nirvana: these were the performances that made the crowds move in a way that lead people to think of scandal. But as the years advanced, technology did as well, and electronic synthesizers began to take over such a genre filled with the beautiful lust of sin. My generation has grown up in a world where bass beats composed on a computer are looked upon higher than the strumming of a bass guitar. As a result, people don’t even know what to do at concerts anymore. The music may be excellent, but the performance doesn’t captivate. The problem with a lot of music today is the emphasis on the roll and much, much less on the rock.

The Orwells, however, seem to be brought together in some way in order to change that. This past Thursday, on June 19, the group of young performers from Elmhurst held a special release party for their sophomore album Disgraceland at Schuba’s Tavern in Chicago, IL. Winners of a contest held by WKQX Chicago populated the audience that eventually filled the entirety of the intimate venue, and many fans eagerly waited for these guys to come on. 

The clock strikes 8 and an impatient audience finally gets what they’re waiting for. After a brief introduction from the radio station, The Orwells took the stage, with lead singer Mario Cuomo quickly congratulating the crowd on their radio contest victories then switching into his signature, almost hypnotic, performance. The group rocked a few songs as the crowd jumped around a bit, but it wasn’t enough for Cuomo. “Man, they were right when they said that people who listen to the radio don’t know how to move, just driving in their cars all of the time,” said the lead singer as he feigned the action of driving a car. With every imaginary turn to the right or left, the crowd became more and more entranced into the mosh-movement that The Orwells are known for (even shutting them down at Bonnaroo this previous weekend). The collaboration of the band's steady rise into the rhythm of the next song and Mario's insanity was enough for the guys to take control. 

The crowd from here on out grew with rowdiness with each and every note that the band would send out. Alternating from songs on their first album Remember When and those from their latest, the group had no reason to question that the crowd was loving every second of it. The placement of a thong from a fan on a face and the rolling around on the stage floor may seem like oddball antics for a singer, but they actually just are the usual for Cuomo. However, a pretty blonde in the front row managed to make this blonde maned wild child calm down for a few beats, and a lot of time was spent flirting with her from the stage. Despite a few heart breaks from other eager females who stood beside this lucky lady, this interaction, I think, added some great entertainment for everyone in the crowd. No performer disappointed, but I must say that Matt O’Keefe’s performance caught my attention more than maybe it was intended to. His guitar skills were mature in every essence, and it was as if every beat was becoming a part of his blood flow. Most people would think having a wild performer like Mario would cause some problems, but the band doesn’t seem to mind the diverted attention. 

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. The final notes were played out, and the band members put down their instruments to exit off the stage and back out onto the street. Before they even left the stage completely, the demand for an encore was chanted out by the crowd. As O’Keefe, Corso, and the Brinners took over the stage, a switch was done. What at first appeared to be Mario in a t-shirt change and straighter hair was revealed to be his own brother. A moment of confusion ensued for the crowd as this seemingly identical man walked around with the other band members when Mario himself entered with another twist. Being carried with him upon the stage was a young woman dressed in black lingerie and her legs wrapped around his waist. If I’m not mistaken, this is the same young lady who was featured in their “Dirty Sheets” music video. Regardless, the audience went NUTS as she began to move and grind up on him for a minute. The girl departed as the band began to play "Cheap Beer" by Fidlar, a band they opened for last fall. A few middle fingers later, the song was concluded, and the guys officially exited for the evening.

It’s truly hard to explain the atmosphere that The Orwells bring with each and every performance. There is an electricity that spreads from the stage to the back of the room; a shock that I hardly ever feel when I see performers live. Seeing their set back at Lollapalooza in 2013, I knew that these guys were going to lead to something absolutely incredible, and their rise since then has only been on a sharp incline. If you don’t come out from one of their shows looking like a battered man or woman, then you obviously Orwelled wrong. Rock and roll should always feel like this wild, vicious animal that your parents would never want to approve of, and it’s refreshing that they can understand that.


[Video] Kenna: "Relations" Remix (feat. Childish Gambino)

Childish Gambino was able to collaborate with alternative artist Kenna for the latter's official remix of his "Relations" record. The original version is available in Chapter 1 of his Land 2 Air Chronicles II: Imitation is Suicide EP series and even though he has already released Chapter 2, he decided to go back and give this bouncy track a quick revamp. Listen below.

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[via MTV]


[Video] The Avett Brothers on Jimmy Fallon

The Avett Brothers visited Jimmy Fallon and The Roots yesterday to perform their single "Vanity" with Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell. The performance was a precursor to the band's upcoming album, Magpie and the Dandelion, which was recorded at the same time as Avett Brother's 2012 release The Carpenter, is due out on October 15.