Music Festival Review: Riot Fest 2021
Riot Music Festival - 9/16 - 9/19 - Chicago, IL
After an extra year of waiting, and quite a few line-up changes, people have finally been able to meet up again to enjoy live music, carnival rides, and funnel cake at Riot Fest in Chicago, IL. The festival kicked off on September 16th with a Thursday preview date being added that offered free rides and a more relaxed intro to the festival after a long time away. The lineup for the weekend included a mixture of all genres from Metal to Hip-Hop and everything in between, hosting headliners such as Slipknot, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Run The Jewels.
Riot Fest held 5 different stages, the smallest being the Rebel stage intended for rising artists, then Radical, Rise, Roots, up to their largest stage, Riot, where headliners performed. Though stage size didn’t seem to matter as acts on the smaller stages continually drew in large crowds and some rising artists were given a larger platform to perform on.
The Thursday preview date offered the full festival experience, but with free rides and a smaller crowd as fewer bands performed on only two of the stages, Riot and Roots. Riot Fest newcomers We Don’t Ride Llamas christened the Riot stage with a crowd-catching performance including their single ‘The Flies’, and headliner Morrissey, to everyone’s surprise, didn’t cause much of a stir as the night came to a close. The Thursday addition was a good way to get a feel for the festival grounds without the nearly overwhelming crowds of the rest of the weekend, and hopefully it becomes a Riot Fest staple.
Friday was full of artists starting to make their names known in the music industry. Powerhouses such as Meet Me @ The Altar, who opened the day on the Roots stage, brought intense energy to the festival with hits from their latest EP ‘Model Citizen’, and Kississippi on the Rebel stage performing songs from her new album ‘Mood Ring’. The night was nearly cut short when rain and lightning started to approach, but the weather held off just long enough for headliners Lupe Fiasco, NOFX, and The Smashing Pumpkins to play their sets.
The Rise stage remained surrounded nearly all of Saturday as Four Year Strong, State Champs, Bayside, and Mayday Parade performed back to back while other acts such as GWAR, Vic Mensa, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones had their own crowds to please at their respective stages.
The Sunday date was the day a lot of attendees will be talking about for a long time. Members of Fever 333 and Knuckle Puck risked it all to climb the stage, with another Knuckle Puck member making a joke about health insurance mid-song. Though the day went really well, drama ensued when one of the headliners, Machine Gun Kelly, continually poked fun at another headliner, Slipknot, sparking internet controversy and a host of viral videos.
Being a four-day festival, there was plenty of food, drinks, and attractions. Food stalls were lined up carnival-style on either side of the festival grounds offering options for nearly every sort of diet. Carnival rides and games were towards the front of the park and were by far a hit among attendees, offering them something to do while waiting for their next favorite performance. The Riot Fest team handled the event being pushed back another year with grace, and came out on the other side with a festival we won’t soon forget.
