This weekend, Chicago’s Riot Fest & Carnival returns, this time taking place in a new location, Douglas Park (St. Anthony Hospital, be damned!). Having attended and covered the festival off-and-on over the years, it’s still incredible to see what was once a week-long, multi-venue, sorta “underground” affair having expanded into a massive, three-day event that no longer simply happens in Chicago – but also Denver and Toronto. While there’s certainly plenty of other festivals in Chicago (and the U.S.), this is the only one that I look forward to – the only one that truly speaks to my interests. The only issue for me with the size is, well, size – and that creates logistics issues no matter which festival you attend, particularly one with dozens of bands spread over seven stages. Conveniently, Riot Fest has an App (available for iOS & Android) to help with scheduling and music discovery, and from that App I was able to narrow my list to around 27 artists to check out, toplined by my favorite band of all-time, FAITH NO MORE. Still, there’s some overlap, but I’ll get it figured out. Accompanied by a highlight reel from last year, here’s THE ROCK FATHER’s picks for Riot Fest Chicago 2015 as exported and emailed via the Riot Fest App.
Friday, Sep. 11
• Eagles of Death Metal (4:15 PM – 5:00 PM)
• Mest (5:00 PM – 5:45 PM)
• Atreyu (5:30 PM – 6:15 PM)
• Coheed and Cambria (5:45 PM – 6:45 PM)
• Flogging Molly (6:45 PM – 7:45 PM)
• Anthrax (7:15 PM – 8:00 PM)
• FAITH NO MORE (7:45 PM – 8:45 PM)
• no doubt (8:45 PM – 10:00 PM)
• Ice Cube & Special Guests (9:00 PM – 10:00 PM)
Saturday, Sep. 12
• GWAR (1:40 PM – 2:10 PM)
• Babes in Toyland (3:25 PM – 4:10 PM)
• CIV (5:30 PM – 6:15 PM)
• Bootsy Collins’ Rubber Band (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
• Merle Haggard (7:00 PM – 7:45 PM)
• Rancid (7:40 PM – 8:55 PM)
• Billy Idol (7:45 PM – 8:45 PM)
• System Of A Down (8:45 PM – 10:00 PM)
Sunday, Sep. 13
• Hum (2:15 PM – 3:00 PM)
• De La Soul (3:00 PM – 3:45 PM)
• New Politics (3:00 PM – 3:45 PM)
• Kongos (4:25 PM – 5:05 PM)
• Andrew W.K. (5:05 PM – 5:50 PM)
• Cypress Hill (6:00 PM – 7:00 PM)
• L7 (6:40 PM – 7:40 PM)
• Tenacious D (7:40 PM – 8:40 PM)
• Snoop Dogg (7:45 PM – 8:45 PM)
• The Prodigy (8:40 PM – 9:55 PM)
Will YOU be at Riot Fest? If so, who is on your “Must-See” list? Let me know below. Want tix? Check out http://chicago.riotfest.org/
Flashback: A favorite pic from a past Riot Fest…
