I attended Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois this year for the second time. This is one of my favorite music festivals that I have ever been to. When I walk through the gates, there is a smile on my face and I immediately feel at home. It is three days of non-stop amazing rock music.

As per any festival, trying to figure out which sets to catch feels like an impossible decision. This year I managed to watch over 20 acts over the three days. Every set I watched was amazing and I loved them for their own unique reasons. However, I managed to narrow it down to my top ten sets from the weekend.

Featured image by Anthony Linh Nguyen with Riot Fest. All photos were taken by official Riot Fest photographers except where otherwise stated.

10. The Beach Boys

I had to include The Beach Boys on this list. Not only are they legends and their songs are classics, but also they had John Stamos performing with them. Those who are familiar with the Riot Fest lore know getting John Stamos out to the festival has been an over decade long goal. So, having him on stage was a huge deal. The Beach Boys played all their hits like “Good Vibrations”, “Fun Fun Fun”, “Surfin’ USA”, and “God Only Knows”. Then John Stamos also performed “Forever”, which as someone who grew up watching Full House, had me almost in tears.

9. The Paradox

This was a band that I did not originally have on my list to check out, but I am glad that I did. This up-and-coming pop punk band had such a fun set. The whole band had great energy and were very charismatic. They were joking with the crowd and you could feel their energy radiate off the stage. They also sounded great and had the whole crowd engaged. The band mentioned that they have been a band for less than two years, which you could not tell from their set. The Paradox are definitely a band to watch and I cannot wait to see what they do in the future.

8. Knocked Loose

Knocked Loose was on my must-see list. Now, I am not a big hardcare listener, but I am familiar with this band. With their crazy rise over the last year, I was excited to check them out. And they certainly did not disappoint. Knocked Loose owned the stage and captivated the crowd from start to finish. Not only was the crowd enormous, they were moving and interacting with their entire set. There were huge mosh pits, crowd surfers, and people head banging. Bryan Garris is a killer vocalist whose screams and vocal performance were on point. The breakdowns were crazy and the whole band sounded amazing. 

7. Cliffdiver

I am going to say it now: if you are not listening to Cliffdiver, you better fix that. This band from Oklahoma is incredible. They were the first set I watched on Saturday and they got me hyped for the day to come. This band writes songs about mental health and you can hear the passion in vocalists’, Joey Duffy and Briana Wright, voices. owned the stage and were not afraid to speak out about what is going on in the world politically. They had me drawn in from the minute they stepped on stage. I was dancing and singing along the whole time. You could tell the whole band loves what they are doing, and that rubbed off on the whole crowd. I was not super familiar with this band beforehand, but I am now a fan. 

6. Cobra Starship

Okay, this next set was for ten-year-old me. Hearing “Good Girls Go Bad” unlocked my inner wannabe party girl. I was too young to be one when this song came out, and probably shouldn’t have been listening to Cobra Starship, but it is what it is. This set was so much fun. I was dancing and getting pushed around and did not care. Everyone was screaming the lyrics and living their best life. The group announced they were disbanding in 2015, so having Cobra Starship back after years of them being away is just what the scene needed. Some fun dance-rock music. They brought the high energy, care-free, sassy music to lift the mood. The one downside was their set did get cut short due to technical difficulties that delayed not only their set but all the previous sets. But they did bring out Travie McCoy from Gym Class Heroes and William Beckett from The Academy Is… for “Snakes On A Plane” so that may have made up for it. 

5. Free Throw

Free Throw was a last-minute decision to go check out. They are a band whose name I have heard here and there but have just never dived into. Let me tell you, after watching their set, I am about to do a deep dive. Their midwest emo vibes are right up my alley, they had me in my feels at 2 p.m. and I was obsessed. They captured that emo sound but still put their own style to it. And they had a good part of the crowd singing along, so they definitely have a hefty and growing fan base. Their guitar lines and drum beats draw you in, mixed with Cory Castro’s emotional vocal to create the perfect angsty mood made for Riot Fest.

4. Lambrini Girls

An all-female group focused on calling out political corruption? Sign me up. The Lambrini Girls are a British duo that are not afraid to speak out on what is happening in the world. Their vocals are laced with anger and frustration. And the crowd joins them in their anger. There is a sea of people unleashing their anger, me included. The whole crowd felt like they were bonding over their pent up feelings of restlessness and exhaustion with everything that they keep reading on the news and seeing happening all around them. Getting to sing with like-minded people was beautiful and the release that was overdue. At the end of the set, the lead singer joined the crowd and everyone moshed together – a representation of a community joining together. 

3. Honey Revenge

I will never not stop talking about how good Honey Revenge is and their Riot Fest set was no different. They were the first set of the weekend that was on my must-see list. I was along the barricade for their set and that only made it better. As always, Honey Revenge’s stage presence is electric. The minute the music starts, I am dancing, jumping, and singing along. Devin Papadol’s vocals are on point always and Donny Lloyd is shredding on guitar. They are all moving around the stage and trying to get the whole crowd involved. As always, Devin threw many high kicks. I need to warm up my kicks from my dancer days to join her next time, I swear. You could just tell by the smiles on their faces that they were having the time of their life. They even debuted a new song that is a bit heavier and I cannot wait for it to be released, whenever that may be. By the end of their set, I had no voice and I was ready to rock out the rest of the weekend. 

2. Knuckle Puck

When it was announced that Knuckle Puck would be playing all of Copacetic at Riot Fest this year, I knew I had to be in the crowd. Plus, they are from Chicago, making it even better. Seeing them play that album in full healed my 17-year-old soul. I screamed along to songs like “Evergreen”, “Ponder”, and “Poison Pen Letter”. I may have gotten a little teary-eyed during the outro of “Untitled”, but that’s our secret. As someone who got into the scene in 2016, I listened to Copacetic on repeat during my high school years. Blasting the album after my shift at Applebee’s was a routine for me. So, singing along to every song had me both happy and nostalgic. I have seen this band many times, but this time was special. 

1. Green Day

If there was one set I was catching all weekend, it was Green Day. They have been on my bucket list to see for a decade. They are pop punk legends who have influenced many of my current favorite bands. I even did a whole research presentation on them in college. Needless to say I was excited, and you can believe they did not disappoint. The minute the intro video started and the blow-up of the American Idiot logo rose, I got emotional as I was jumping up and down. When the first notes of “American Idiot” began, I lost my mind. I stood in the very back of the crowd and had the time of my life, dancing around and singing at the top of my lungs. The band itself sounded fantastic. Their energy was unbeatable. Billie Joe Armstrong’s vocals were incredible, Tré Cool killed it on the drums as per usual, and Mike Dirnt nailed the bass lines. Hearing songs like “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams” made me nostalgic about singing this song in the car as a child. Rocking out to “Holiday” and “Basket Case” was amazing. Of course, ending on “Good Riddance” was beautiful and had me swaying while wiping tears from my eyes. They were the perfect set to end the weekend. 

Riot Fest was an incredible weekend. It is three days where you are surrounded by so much music and tune out everything else going on in the world. Every set of the weekend killed it, but these were my personal favorites of the weekend. 

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