Chicago’s rock and punk focused fest came to a close on Sunday with a headlining blowout from Green Day. Most years call for rain and while there were some showers on Saturday the fest avoided any muddy mishaps. There was of course a lot of music to see between corn dogs and ferris wheel rides. The fest had been teasing an appearance from John Stamos, which came to fruition during The Beach Boy set. Outside of celebrity sightings and proven headliners there were many special moments throughout the 3-day fest from a vast array of performers. Some of my favorite performances came from hardcore legends, indie reunions, festival newcomers, and some long-time favorites. Follow along as I recap my favorite sets from each
day, plus some exclusive photographs from each performance.

Day 1 (Friday, September 19th)

Touché Amoré

Touché Amoré,

Touché Amoré played early in the day at 2:15 and the crowd poured in as they started their set. To onlookers, the screamo-indebted Los Angeles band must be a sight to see. Out of context of a Touché show it's funny to see folks activate to scream along with frontman Jeremy Bolm.
When the first chord rang for “~” it’s like someone initiated the signal for a horde of sleeper agents. From the pit, I felt a lot of camaraderie in shouting the lyrics to new and old songs alike. The 40-minute set included a host of deep cuts from across the catalog along with a couple
recent tracks from their great 2024 album Spiral In A Straight Line. Before the Touché’s final song “Flowers and You” from 2016’s Stage 4, the band announced that they would be back in Chicago soon to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their seminal album.

Shudder To Think

Shudder To Think at Riot Fest 2025 Zeltzin Vazquez

After nearly blowing out my voice reciting lyrics to one of my favorite bands I headed over to a new-to-me band, Shudder To Think. Before the fest I looked into the D.C. band’s history and was surprised to find two surprising facts, 1) that their early records came out on Ian MacKye’s
Dischord records and 2) they had once collaborated with Jeff Buckley. All that was enough to get me excited for their set. Singer Craig Wedren gave an energetic performance with a unique vibrato that could rival Michael Stipe. Their closer “X-French Tee Shirt” was a favorite.

Agnostic Front

Agnostic Front at Riot Fest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

Next up for me was a Hardcore back to back from Harm’s Way and Agnostic Front. I couldn’t miss the first few songs of Chicago-locals Harm’s Way to see them unleash their metallic blend of industrial and hardcore. I have to admit it was hard to walk away from the metastasizing moshpit, but there were legends to witness. Just a few hundred steps away Agnostic Front was prepping to play through their 1984 record Victim in Pain. I felt assured in the fact that the members of Harm’s Way would be watching AF right beside me if they weren’t actively terrorizing on another stage. The Victim in Pain album playthrough was greeted lovingly by punks of all ages. Guitarist and band leader Vinny Stigma posed heroically in front of the crowd and would lock eyes with audience members and gesture his gratitude throughout the set. After the recitation of Victim in Pain the band still had time to fill with deep cuts, including a special appearance from fellow New York Hardcore legend Mike Dijan (Breakdown). The band closed
with a tribute to "Blitzkrieg Bop”, introducing the track by saying that “hardcore would not exist without the Ramones”. Marky Ramone would play the same stage the following day.

Rilo Kiley

Rilo Kiley at Riot Fest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

One of the sets I knew was going to be a hit was the reunion of Rilo Kiley, who were playing their first show back in Chicago since 2008. I’d seen Jenny Lewis play with The Postal Service at 2023’s riot fest as well as a solo tour she had done earlier that year. Now back with Rilo Kiley, Jenny is sounding great as ever while also vacillating between guitar, bass, and synth. The scene was perfect for some nostalgic indie-rock as the sun cast golden hour light on the stage. A few highlights were, the roaring crowd when the band opened with “The Execution of All Things”, then somewhere in the middle of the set a sign-holding mother informing singer-guitarist Blake Sennett that her daughter was named Rilo, to which Sennett replied sweetly “That’s a great name”, and finally – even though we were a few long miles from Lake Michigan – the line from “With Arms Outstretched" (“this day by the lake went to fast”) made it feel like we were all on its shoreline hoping the sun wouldn’t set on Rilo Kiley

Weird Al

Weird Al at Riot Fest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

Another legendary performance was in store from the one and only “Weird Al” Yancovic “America’s only respected comedy songwriter” headlining his own stage. The set was a cavalcade of trippy multi-media performances which included full-band renditions of Al’s parody hits and originals. A notably beguiling medley of Polka parodies of Billie Eillish, Olivia Rodrigo, Mark Ronson, etc., flexed Al’s accordion chops as well as his ability to keep modern references in his show. If you can name a more well-known accordion player, I’d like to know, – but for me – seeing Al whip out the platypus of keyed instruments was like seeing Slash play Sweet Child O‘ Mine. There was seriously nothing else like it at the fest, and judging by the monstrous crowd, Al should have been on one of the main stages alongside the main headliners.

Day 2 (Saturday, September 20th)

Wishy

Wishy at Riot Fest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

Day 2 started strong with Wishy, the Indianapolis power-pop quintet with a shoegaze amount of guitars. The crowd gathered gradually as folks were lured in by hefty distortion and hooky melodies. Wishy had their crowd densely packed in the pit. When singer Kevin Krauter asked if anyone else from Indiana was in the house, there was a significant applause (Hoosier Down!). Bands as good as Wishy play and make you certain that you already know most of their songs. The band's tight 6-song EP Planet Popstar flew under my radar, but this set was a reminder to add it back to the rotation.

Militarie Gun

Militarie Gun at Riot Fest 2025 Zeltzin Vazquez

Militarie Gun is on the verge of a Full US and European tour, a perfect recipe for growth heading into their Sophomore effort God Save The Gun. The new singles “Throw Me Away” and "B A D I D E A” hit live, proving their staying power with some singalongs during the band’s Riot Fest
debut. Militarie Gun also hit the crowd with familiar numbers like “Do It Faster” and “Very High” from 2023’s Life Under The Gun. A deeper cut came with “Ain’t No Flowers" which was a gratifying nod to the first collection of EP’s, released at a time when MG felt more like a side-
project to frontman Ian Shelton’s powerviolence project Regional Justice Center. With each subsequent release Militarie Gun seems to be getting bigger and better.

Superchunk

Superchunk at Riot Fest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

Superchunk is a band that I have been vaguely aware of ever since I’ve dug into 90's alternative rock. The Chapel Hill band got lost in the mix of Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. for me, but after seeing Superchunk I came out really excited to dig more into their catalog. Singer Mac
McCaughan’s almost screeching voice over the band's bustling distorted guitars was energizing to witness. The band pulled out a few tracks off their new album, entitled Songs in the Key of Yikes, which fit well with top-streamers like “Slack Motherfucker”. I was also excited to see local
Jason Narducy playing bass for Superchunk, who I had recently seen accompanying actor Michael Shannon during one of their R.E.M. cover gigs.

Day 3 (Sunday, September 21st)

Footballhead

Footballhead at Riotfest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

I have to start by saying that I know the guys in Footballhead, we’re chummy. But, I would not be writing to you about them if I didn’t think there was something undeniably special about this group. Chicago’s Footballhead mixes pop-punk sentimentality with unabashed jump-the-fuck-up
nü-metal energy. To some that might be a recipe for disaster, but led by the vocal duo Ryan Nolen and Snow Ellet the hooks soar and their energy is infectious. Right when Footballhead took the stage the Chicago crowd was hyped. The set coincided with project-founder Ryan Nolen’s birthday, which meant that the star-power meter was already glowing blue before the band played their first note. The set started with a new track into recent singles, “Hesitate” and “Face to Face”, showing a turned-up-to-11 side of the band. Cuts like 2024’s “Like A Blister” from their debut already feel classic in Footballhead’s catalog since the band got busy and released their follow-up Before I Die later that same year. The skies are the limit for Footballhead and the next time they play Riot Fest I bet it will be much later in the day.

Quannnic

Quannnic at Riot Fest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

There is a lot of Shoegaze these days and in preparation for Quannnic’s set I was impressed to find that their music does not sound like most Shoegaze. Los Angeles’s Quannnic has been prolific in the last few years, blending production styles tactfully between lo-fi and pristine on
their last three albums. I was interested to see how these recorded maneuvers would shake out on stage. Slow tracks like “Paperweight” lost some of the atmospheric nuances that they have on record, but full-steam rippers like “Aviator” kept their energy intact. The guitars were big for
sure, but I was mostly impressed with frontperson Nick Quan’s shredding abilities that served as an outro for nearly every song. While indulgent at times, Quan’s obvious ability is refreshing in the trendy landscape of his genre-mates.

Soft Play

Soft Play at Riot Fest 2025 photo by Zeltzin Vazquez

One of my favorite sets of the whole fest came from the English 2-piece Soft Play. Starting off by setting an intention of inclusivity and anti-fascism, the Chicago crowd was uproarious with approval. The bands first song and objectively their hardest riff came in the form of “Mirror
Muscles”, a tongue in cheek ripper about getting absolutely stacked. The crowd was moving before the drums kicked in – and we have to talk about the drums. Drummer Isaac Holman stands instead of sitting at the kit, with the bass drum flipped on its side to sit like a low tom, which he plays as such. It must also be noted that they do not use a hi-hat and Soft Play dedicates a section of the show to dissing the standard piece of drum kit, screaming “fuck the hi-hat!”. Guitarist Laurie Vincent kept the energy manic throughout the set as Holman went ballistic on Soft Play’s version of a drum kit. Everything about Soft Play spits in the face of the established norms of dudes who play without shirts. There was even an emotional solo-mandolin song that felt sincerely emotional as Holman screamed the words along. Later in the day during the IDLES set, Soft Play was invited on stage and the duo didn’t miss a beat accompanying their English brethren. Great stuff.

Words by Blake Correll
Photos by Zeltzin Vazquez

More info on Riot Fest HERE