Riot Fest 2024: Welcome to Riotland

by Jesse Hudgins

Well, it’s finally here. Riot Fest, or should I say RiotLand, has been revealed to the world with a new venue and lineup.

On June 11, Riot Fest took to their social medias to reveal they’ll no longer operate out of Douglass Park and will move to Bridgeview’s Seat Geek Stadium, turning Riot Fest into RiotLand, which will expand the festival into a bigger experience with more attractions to accompany the music. RiotLand will feature four stages, an arcade, a casino, a convention area, and even a certified complaint booth to file all your spiteful complaints about how Riot Fest sucks!

The lineup this year is a stacked one with Fall Out Boy, Beck, and Slayer headlining the weekend. While I take great pride in predicting that Fall Out Boy would be the headliner for Friday, I’m a little surprised that Beck will headline on Saturday. He wasn’t part of the rumor mill for headliners, but regardless, I’m excited to see him for the first time. Also exciting is that NOFX will play all three days, headlining their own stage with other classic punk acts like Descendents, Circle Jerks, Pennywise, and more supporting the stage.

I’m excited to see Sum 41 since it’s the last time they’ll be in Chicago before they call it quits by the end of the year. As someone who’s seen Rob Zombie plenty of times, I’ll always take the time to go see him, especially because I’ll need something to do on Sunday night. He puts on a fantastic stage show that, while extremely entertaining, isn’t fully appropriate for the kids to watch. Other bands that I’m excited to catch are The Buzzcocks, Public Enemy, GEL, L.S. Dunes, and Hot Mulligan.

Overall, while many seem to be disappointed at the lineup or the change in venue, I see this as a new era for the festival that looks like it may lead to more fun being had all around. While there are bands that I wish were in the lineup, there’s so much to look forward to as a fan of music and as a fan of Riot Fest. I feel like I’m being given a bountiful feast of a festival to enjoy!