Day One of Riot Fest 2025: A Perfect Storm of Punk, Metal, and Comedy

Blink-182 – With many calling this year’s headlining trio their dream lineup, Blink-182 was absolutely the show everybody was ready to see during the start of Riot Fest’s 20th year anniversary. Blink-182’s set started with a live intro that resembled an MMA fight night, showcasing the bandmates’ statistics plastered across a live audience feed, narrated enthusiastically by a fight announcer. The song “The Rock Show” kicked off their set, making everyone in the crowd feel like they were at least 10 years younger. The show was jam-packed with classic punk rock and humorous banter between the group. About halfway through the set, guitarist Tom DeLonge invited Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio on stage to perform “Bored to Death” from their 2016 record “California.” Later in the show, the band also brought to stage yet another icon, this time one from which the band derived much inspiration. Singer Tom DeLonge spoke a heartfelt story before inviting Stephen Egerton from the band “The Descendents” on stage to cover the song “Hope.” “In Travis’s dressing room before the show, I literally got emotional, I got tears in my eyes. You guys have no idea how important this is to me and the three of us. There’s many, many punk rock bands that we grew up on. But there’s one band; there’s one band that the three of us would, like, die for. That put Blink together and that was the band called the Descendents.” Closing out the show with “What’s My Age Again?”, “All the Small Things”, and “Dammit,” it was hard to tell which was more exciting: the explosive energy the band brought to the stage paired with fireworks that lit up the sky, or the explosive emotion and feelings the show brought to us and the fireworks the band lit up in our hearts. (Aww)

Many flocked to Douglas Park this year to celebrate a festival that Chicago punks look forward to year after year. Riot Fest celebrated their 20th anniversary this September 19-21, and rockers from all over the Midwest flocked in attendance to enjoy the weekend filled with live music and shows worth living for. This year the festival added some new quirks including a “Mosh Mart,” AKA a poor man’s Quickie Mart (not to be confused with the Quickie Mart located on the south side of the festival), as well as a look-alike competition for Riot Fest’s beloved king, John Stamos. He would ultimately attend his own look-alike competition later Saturday afternoon and perform on the main stage with “The Beach Boys” years after the festival had developed its strange obsession.

Mac Sabbath – Early in the afternoon, Mac Sabbath took the stage to serve up a plate of piping hot rock and roll rewrites, stirring up the crowd and setting the pace for a filling Riot Fest. The band started off their set with the song “Organic Funeral,” featuring lyrics warning us of the harmful additives and long-lasting reproductions of fast food. This Los Angeles-derived drive-through metal band has been around since early 2014 and has been feeding us renditions of Black Sabbath parodies and signature songs ever since. The set was complete with the charisma we’ve come to expect from the band, along with their campy, uncanny costumes and props. Confetti, a rubber chicken, and delicious condiments were all used for audience pleasure. Finishing the set with a powerful rendition of “Paranoid,” singer Ronald Osbourne tossed himself amidst the crowd on a raft, proceeding to surf the wave of people lined up, hungry to get what they came for: a satiating performance!

Touché Amoré – Back with another incredible performance, Touché Amoré claimed the stage yet again at this year’s Riot Fest, nine years since their last appearance. “~,” a staple song in their discography, was chosen as the opening number, bringing a sense of catharsis to its crowd of fans. Throughout the crowd, humans united together, individually attached to the band’s heartfelt lyricism and hardcore waves of sound. The second song of the set, “New Halloween” from the fourth record “Stage Four,” was released back in 2016, the same day as the band’s last Riot Fest performance. One of many legendary locations as of recent. If you find the time to peruse their website, the band has a chronological timeline of all the amazing shows they’ve played in the last decade: Milan, Copenhagen, Paris, and Athens, all in the last year to name a few. It was a blast to catch them live and witness firsthand the chokehold they bring when performing live.

Knocked Loose – One of the most anticipated bands on the bill this year was Knocked Loose. Fans gathered at the main stage Friday night ready to experience what would turn out to be a thrilling set filled with tsunami-sized mosh pits, waves of crowd surfers, and an iconic energy. This was the band’s first time playing Riot Fest, and it was certainly one for the books. “Let’s make it one to remember,” vocalist Bryan Garris shouts. Throughout the set, playing songs like “Mistakes Like Fractures,” “Deadringer,” and “Moss Covers All,” fans continued flooding over the barricade, tossed around like chips on a conveyor belt. A diverse lineup of songs throughout their discography were played, including songs from their first studio album “Laugh Tracks” released in 2016 and their most recent album “You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To” released in 2024. Guitarist Isaac Hale commands the crowd: “All right Riot Fest, listen to me very carefully. From the barricade to the back of this fucking field, split this place in half.” In that moment the crowd had split in two for the weekend’s largest wall of death, a perfect picture of what fans expect at a Knocked Loose show. Halting the show during the final song “Everything Is Quiet Now,” Bryan spoke up: “If someone is standing still, you fucking move them. This is going to be the biggest mosh pit Riot Fest has ever fucking seen!” I saw some injuries post-show, but nothing detrimental—all in good fun. Knocked Loose continues to live up to their name.

Weird Al Yankovic – During the Knocked Loose set, comedic icon Weird Al Yankovic was set to perform on the Rise stage, which had been shortly named “Weird Al Yankovic’s Weird World stage” to commemorate his appearance. Shonen Knife, Mac Sabbath, and Puddles Pity Party all performed on the same stage earlier in the day, sharing similar themes. The turnout for Al’s set was immense and had many attendees commenting that the festival underpredicted his turnout and that a larger stage would have been more accommodating. No matter how crowded the audience grew, fans were dedicated to witnessing such a show, knowing it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime performance. I am unaware of the exact numbers, but I can’t imagine the statistics point to there being much opportunity to mosh at live polka shows, so I can see why so many jumped at the opportunity. Before the set, Al’s good friend Emo Philips took to the stage to introduce the show and tell a few jokes. Filled with costume changes and characters, Weird Al performed his set of parody hits from decades past to his current radio spin-offs. Parody songs like “Smells Like Nirvana,” “Word Crimes,” and “Amish Paradise” were all performed live along with one of my favorite original songs, “Everything You Know Is Wrong.” Between songs, video snippets of cameos and cinematic mentions of Weird Al played, reminding us all of how deeply Al has woven himself into pop culture in the last 40 years as well as how beloved his art has grown.

Throughout the day we also caught acts from Harms Way, Rico Nasty, and Senses Fail. One thing I admire about Riot Fest is its ability to keep us on our toes, offering a wide range of musical genres yet again and again coming through with timeless classics. There was so much excitement during Riot Fest Day One, but the show’s not over yet—in fact, we were just getting started.