Chicago’s Riot Fest is a conundrum. Started in 2005, Riot Fest is now one of the largest rock festivals in North America, yet still somehow feels like a DIY operation. The festival was able to secure massive headliners like The Cure and Foo Fighters for this year’s edition, while still throwing out left-field curveballs like booking Corey Feldman and Insane Clown Posse.

Set in the massive Douglass Park in Chicago, Riot Fest draws tens of thousands of music fans from around the globe each year while still maintaining its own irreverent personality. From sending “You Up?” notifications to users of its app to proudly displaying Gary Busey and Rick Flair Cameo videos on the festival’s gigantic screens between acts, the festival feels curated by (quirky) human programmers rather than via Spotify playlist stats.

With its emphasis on punk, hardcore, and emo, this year’s edition from September 15-18 featured 10 hours of music a day spread over 5 stages. Read on for our highlights from the weekend including full album plays from The Postal Service, Quicksand, and The Breeders, along with the aforementioned Corey Feldman, UK hardcore act High Vis, and more.

Keep your eyes peeled on the official festival site for news on Riot Fest 2024.

Riot Fest 2023 Highlights

Corey Feldman

This was the big WTF booking on the festival and shows why Riot Fest are in a class of their own. While securing a giant headliner like Foo Fighters is a major milestone for the festival, Corey Feldman is the act everyone at the festival seemingly wanted to see. Even getting near the side-stage for his early afternoon performance was difficult with fans taking up every inch of available space.

It’s no secret that Feldman has battled his share of demons over the years, and it may have come to a surprise to many in the crowd that he actually has multiple albums, dating back to 1992. The genre-hopping show transitioned from Michael Jackson-like pop-rock numbers (including Feldman busting out his best MJ moves) to the heavier sounds that even kicked off a decently-sized mosh pit.

Whether the large crowd was there because they love The Lost Boys and The Goonies, and/or Feldman’s musical output or simply wanted to see a Hollywood star strut shirtless in the afternoon sun, Feldman delivered on all fronts. It was all fairly ridiculous but was easily one of the most memorable set of the weekend.

High Vis

UK act High Vis have been blowing up on this side of the Atlantic following the release of their 2022’s Blending LP. Mixing-in themes about the working-class with songs about the benefits of men going to therapy, the band has hit upon a unique style that spins ’80s melodic oi through a hardcore sensibility.

As great as they are on record, High Vis is an entirely different beast live, performing the tracks with an intensity that pulls you right in. Fans were fist-pumping and crowd-surfing in the middle of the afternoon heat during the band’s side-stage set, while singer Graham Sayle repeatedly expressed his bewilderment over how fast the band has come in such a short period of time.

High Vis also played the 400-cap Empty Bottle club as one of the official Riot Fest Late Night shows, annihilating the packed sold-out venue before Nothing closed the night out. As great as it is to see bands like High Vis making waves on the Us festival circuit, nothing beats seeing a hardcore band in a small club, and a few lucky fans were able to experience them both this weekend.

Quicksand live from Chicago’s Riot Fest on Friday, September 15, 2023. Photo: Timothy Hyatt.

Quicksand

NYHC vet Walter Schreifels was on triple duty for Riot Fest weekend, playing sets with Gorilla Biscuits, Rival Schools, and Quicksand. Celebrating the 30th-anniversary of the Slip LP, the band ran through their highly-influential album in full, featuring the unbeatable opening salvo of “Fazer,” “Head to Wall,” and “Dine Alone.” Slip marked an evolution in hardcore with its groove-laden yet undeniably heavy sound, and the band sounded killer live, even with a fill-in member from Incendiary on second guitar duty.

One of the greatest things about Riot Fest is seeing a cult band like Quicksand on a main festival stage in front of thousands of fans; it’s like peaking into an alternate reality where the best bands are finally given the credit and the audience they deserve. It’s got to be a thrilling feeling on both sides of the barricade.

The Breeders

Saturday afternoon at Riot Fest felt like Lollapalooza ’94 for an hour when The Breeders hit the stage to perform their breakout album “Last Splash” in full. Celebrating the 30th-anniversary of the album, the band, led by sisters Kim and Kelley Deal, dove into the album with gusto, including a number of songs that hadn’t been played live in decades.

Like many of the albums played in full at this year’s Riot Fest, Last Splash is a pretty front-loaded record and the first half of the band’s set lifted off with tracks like “Cannonball” and the surfy “No Aloha.” Given that the new crop of young pop stars is heavily indebted to the sound of acts like The Breeders, it was great to see the band being rightly celebrated on such a huge stage.

The Postal Service

With a handful of bands at Riot Fest doing full album plays (including The Postal Service’s own Ben Gibbard who also played Transatlanticism in full with Death Cab for Cutie earlier in the day), it only made sense for the reunited Postal Service to play…their one album.

Inexplicably celebrating the 20th-anniversary (!) of the release of Give Up, Gibbard was joined on-stage by Jimmy Tamborello and Jenny Lewis to run through their era-defining album. Thousands of fans were instantly transported back to the days of The OC with the melancholy opening notes of “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,” setting the mood for the entire album’s emotional catharsis. The back-and-forth inter-play between Gibbard and Lewis on “Nothing Better” was an easy set highlight, but simply witnessing these era-defining songs presented on such a large scale was truly something to behold.

Turnstile

Based on the sheer quantity of Turnstile merch on display across Chicago over the weekend, Turnstile was one of the biggest draws at Riot Fest this year, and they did not disappoint. Taking the stage to a staggeringly large crowd, the band was on fire and seemed determined to translate a hardcore club vibe to the huge crowd.

Focusing primarily on their breakout LP Glow On, the band had the crowd moving and singing from the get-go, with the audience essentially taking over tracks like “Underwater Boi.” Backed by a full production including a proper light show and the festival’s towering video screens, this was Turnstile’s crowning achievement after a couple of wildly successful years, and based on the wld crowd reaction, they’ll likely be headlining festivals this size by the time their next record drops.