Riot Fest Announces First Wave Of Acts | September 15-17 | Douglas Park (Chicago, IL)

Wednesday April 19, 2017.- This morning, organizers behind Chicago's Riot Fest (September 15-17 at Douglas Park) unveiled over 70 artists in their First Wave lineup announcement with headlining performances by genre-breaking artist Nine Inch Nails, desert rock ruffians Queens of the Stone Age, and the exclusive reunion of seminal punk rock band Jawbreaker.
 
Other special inclusions on the lineup include 80s post-punk pioneers New Order, Paramore, Prophets of Rage, the inimitable M.I.A., Wu-Tang Clan, a DJ set from Beastie Boys' Mike D, an exclusive 40th Anniversary set by punk hardcore legends Bad Brains and special appearances by Chicago brethren Ministry and Vic Mensa.
 
Riot Fest Three-Day Passes will go on sale Today (April 19) at Noon CDT with General Admission and VIP options via Ticketfly.
 
RIOT FEST 2017'S FIRST WAVE OF ARTISTS:
Nine Inch Nails (Friday), Queens of the Stone Age (Saturday), Jawbreaker (Sunday), New Order, Paramore, Prophets of Rage, M.I.A., Wu-Tang Clan, Mike D (DJ Set), A Day To Remember, Gogol Bordello, Taking Back Sunday, Vic Mensa, Dirty Heads, TV on the Radio, Ministry, Dinosaur Jr., New Found Glory, Death From Above 1979, Bad Brains, FIDLAR, Action Bronson, Good Charlotte, Pennywise, Built to Spill, X, Peaches, The Lawrence Arms, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Orwells, Bayside, Say Anything, Mayday Parade, Streetlight Manifesto, Dead Cross, Minus the Bear, The Menzingers, LIARS, GWAR, Buzzcocks, GBH, Real Friends, Hot Water Music, Shabazz Palaces, Andrew W.K., Fishbone, The Story So Far, State Champs, Four Year Strong, Beach Slang, The Cribs, that dog., Knuckle Puck, Chon, Slaves, The Hotelier, The Flatliners, Dessa, Saul Williams, Nothing More, Alice Bag, Tobacco, Sleep On It, Downtown Boys, Engine 88, The Smith Street Band, The Regrettes, HDBeenDope, Gazebos, Kitten Forever andf featuring Hellzapoppin' Circus Sideshow Revue, plus 25+ more artists to be announced!
 
In addition to the remaining 25+ bands that will be announced in May, on Thursday, April 20th, organizers will be revealing select artists who will be performing their seminal album for the festival. Riot Fest will also once again feature a full-scale carnival with rides, games of chance, and of course, the Hellzapoppin' Sideshow Revue freak show, which will see a much extended footprint from prior years. And to satisfy the refined palates of Riot patrons, there will be over 40 unique and diverse food vendors from which to choose.
 
DIRECT TICKET LINK: 
https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1384105

 

Tattoos, Mohawks, and Piercings: Riot Fest Delivered On All Levels This Year In Denver


Since migrating from it’s Chicago birthplace, Riot Fest has brought to Denver some of the largest acts in music history; last year Riot Fest brought us alt-rock pillars Pixies and Modest Mouse, sided by rap deities Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube. 

The festival has become known as a three-day long nostalgia trip harking back on the audience’s early days of walkmans and pixilated iPods, walks on the sidewalk and angst fueled rebellion railed against the expected, the norm, and the sleeping, smiley radio-pop with no incisors, and instead celebrating the apolitical, angry and bass heavy, boiling with quick tempo rails against the corporate machine and mentality. 

Nothing but love at this years Riot Fest (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Held in The National Western Complex, four stages spread across dirt, gravel and concrete, branching out from the sweaty hearth of the Denver Coliseum and into the depths of the American anti-movement.

This year’s lineup was no surprise, comprised of equal parts punk, rap and alternative-rock, complete with headliners Death Cab For Cutie, Sleater Kinney, NAS and, most anticipated, the 30 year awaited reuniting of The Original Misfits. The festival drew fans from all over the world vying to get a glimpse of Glenn Danzig and freshly paved moments in music history. 

Fans of The Misfits were out in full force. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

The National Western Complex quickly filled by 12:30 p.m. every day with Misfits tees, mohawks and black on black clothing, circles formed of both friends and strangers. The festival featured roughly a dozen different food trucks, offering vegan and vegetarian gyros and burritos, turkey legs, tacos and fried oreos, along with other typical carnival-esque exoticisms. 

Beer and other canned cocktails were sold for $6 to $8; expected fare for larger festivals. The tap lines were pretty long during high traffic, but if you knew which tents to stake out, a beer could be sought and bought in under ten minutes most of the time. 

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

The ageless wonder Mr. Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Friday’s most memorable include Rogue Wave, Wolf Parade, Death Cab For Cutie, Jane's Addiction, Descendents and particularly, Suicidal Tendencies.

The intensity in the pit during Suicidal Tendencies was a steep and steady ascent; during the first twenty or so minutes I was pushing my way through the circle-pit and chanting “Institution! I’m not crazy, institution!” with the best of them. Eventually the gravel and grit feeling we were stomping around in pervaded into everything; the crowd felt big, not only in number but in size, and I, being short, dipped out to avoid getting my eyes pitted by the silver spikes lining the handsewn back-patches adorning many a homemade vest. 

Mike Muir, frontman, recounted between two or three minute high tempo hits, “This isn’t a slogan, I’m not a politician! This is freedom!”, a direct reference to the foundation of the punk music, atheism and rebellion which incited fired enthusiasm. 

After their set, I found a friend who I’d lost within the first ten minutes, missing her left Toms shoe, spotted with a stranger’s blood on her shoulder and grinning dazedly.

Check Out Our Riot Fest Day One Gallery HERE


Saturday saw Meat Puppets, Danny Brown, Yo La Tengo, Vince Staples, Denver’s own Devotchka, Sleater Kinney, Julian Marley Performing Bob Marley and The Wailers’ Exodus, and Ween. 

Danny Brown played one of the most hyped sets of the weekend. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Danny Brown brought a lot of heat, spitting lyrics in quick succession, “And I smoke/ Blunt after blunt after blunt after blunt”, with his usual blur of obscenities and affable expressions. 

I dipped out halfway through his set to see mid-nineties alt-rock staple Yo La Tengo who recently released an album Stuff Like That There (2015) which is pretty phenomenal. Their set was concluded with a ten minute long song with a single, simple bass riff decorated with Ira Kaplan’s animated guitar solo, some fancy footwork with his pedals, slaps of his fret board and 360 degree swings sending his guitar sailing around his body. The song inched into your mind like a worm, it’s steady vibration lulling you into a Yo La Tengo induced, genex, ethereal, bass-binded spell. 

Corin Tucker of Sleater Kinney played an amazing raucous set. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Sleater Kinney, a Feminist punk four piece including front woman Corin Tucker, bassist Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss brought the crowd to their knees. The band was emanating bright energy; with impeccable lighting, a royal purple, gauzy background and fog machine, the women brought what can only be described as pure lady power. Playing hits off of The Woods and Dig Me Out, my first encounter with this band left me stunned and in total disbelief. 

Check Out Our Riot Fest Day Two Gallery HERE

The third day of any festival is a feat in it of itself, and despite exhaustion and ear damage, the crowd turnout was larger than ever for Sunday’s lineup. The day began much like the ones before, only with more velocity, more Misfits tees, and more redbull fueled moshing. The lineup was noticeably more hardcore; Converge, Hatebreed, Murder By Death and Bad Religion filled up the earlier slots to prepare the crowd for The Misfits’ resurrection. 

The most commonly asked question floated around like a virus: “So, you going to Nas or Misfits?” Whether the organizers intended to create the “Which set can I stand to miss?” anxiety and the inevitable friend group division that ensued, or they simply assumed that the crowds for each would split easily like a cell undergoing routine mitosis, the question served well as a conversation starter between strangers throughout the entire festival. 

Bleached, L.A. an indie-pop-punk band headed by Mika Miko, drew a large audience into the Coliseum, with danceable, shimmeable pop and surf rock licks, a perfect band to make the September summer last just a little bit longer. 

2 Chainz....more like 2 Late. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

2 Chainz and Tyler, The Creator took on the Rock Stage back to back. Although 2 Chainz appeared twenty minutes after his scheduled slot, Tyler’s set was full and unimpeded. Tyler was literally elevated,  (he got airborne) in the Mile High City, jumping from the stage repeatedly, bashing the crowd in his lyrics as to be expected. 

Sleigh Bells came on next, with a full face assault; strobe-lights, heavy distortion and hard hitting bass, the crowd was wild for hits such as “Rill Rill” and “Kids”, intermixed with newer tracks off of the more recent Bitter Arrivals.

Tyler The Creator with some serious hops. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

I tried to get a good spot for Misfits, and even though I left halfway through Sleigh Bell’s set, a sea of people had accumulated around the Riot Stage, flowing freely past the sound stage and into the food truck lines. Danzig and band installed an unbendable no photo rule, and thus he and the rest (Jerry Only and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein) were much unseen, but man, were they were heard. 

Although tension was predicted, Danzig was nothing if not nostalgic. He took breaks between songs to personally acknowledge Only, Frankenstein and the rest of the band present, eliciting cheers and chants. Much of their set consisted of the infamous album Walk Among Us (1982), one to two minute songs each inciting short lived circle pits and long lived pride from long-time Misfits fans and fanatics. 

Not Danzig and Jerry Only. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Danzig iterated, “This all started back in the early 80’s, when we dressed in all black; we didn’t look like anyone, we didn’t sound like anyone, and we were about getting people mad and getting people to party, and we got into trouble every single night,” before jumping into a rendition of the crowd favorite “All Hell Breaks Loose”. 

A group next to me had driven the same day from Montana, just to see Misfits’ reunite. The crowd was both fighting against each other to move closer and united with camaraderie, a newfound kinship created in their mutual fandom. 

After the Misfits wistfully exited, the crowd disbanded, smiling and dazed, astounded to have witnessed one of the most historic punk bands coming together again to play their most famous tracks. 

If I Ruled The World. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

All in all, this years Riot Fest was undoubtedly a success. We were given the chance to walk among the greatest of American punk history, to recount our youth and our nostalgia, and to gather together in mutual appreciation for all things anti. 

A gigantic thanks to everyone who made it out to the National Western Complex and to those who assisted in the process. We have made it out to Riot Fest for many years, and we will continue to do so, giddy with excitement and ready to release our inner riot. We can’t wait to see what the festival will brew up for 2017 lineup, but we can’t imagine it will be that much different; we can always expect that somehow, the lineup will be better than the previous. 

Check Out Our Riot Fest Day Three Gallery HERE

 

Words: Kendall Morris Photos: Robert Castro

Music | Riot Fest | The National Western Complex | Friday: Photo Essay

Well it's been a week and it looks like things have finally gotten back to normal from last week's Riot Fest, it took us a whole week to recover. Now that we have we want to share some of the amazing photos we captured through the eyes of Robert Castro, Matt Smith and Liz Whitman. 

Ice Cube (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

The festival took on a new venue this year as it invaded the grounds of The National Western Complex. At firs we were skeptical on how it would fit in, and honestly it worked out great from a logistic standpoint. With an array of stages spread out across the grounds it was easy to maneuver from band to band. With the exception of a few spontaneous dust pits the vantage points were pretty good from all areas. 

Iggy Pop (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Friday night was one for the ages as hip hop ruled the day. Old school veterans such as De La Soul, Cypress Hill and Ice Cube all put up worthy performances with Ice Cube stealing the night as he brought out OG N.W.A. member MC Ren and DJ Yella along with his son O'Shea Jackson Jr. to perform a slew of old school hits. With a movie destroying the box office, it was only right to showcase one of hip hops ambassadors. Other notable performances were Benjamin Booker with an early blues set. The legendary Iggy Pop who still maintains an tremendous amount of energy during his live shows played to a full stage hitting us with hits from his solo career as well as with his time with The Stooges. Closing out the night was Armenian rockers System of a Down who completely set the stage on fire with their unique sound. Serj and the boys played from their entire catalog as the crowd enjoyed every minute of their set.

Friday's Best Photos: Liz Whitman and Robert Castro

Music | An Interview with Riot Fest Founder Michael "Riot Mike" Petryshyn


With this years Riot Fest just around the corner we had a chance to chat with the man responsible for the festival, founder Michael "Riot Mike" Petryshyn. He answered some questions for us about the festival ranging from the culture of the festival to naming his all time Riot Fest performing band. Riot Fest takes place this upcoming weekend here in Denver at The National Western Complex. Tickets are still available here. Since we love to giveaway tickets on the daily, we have an opportunity to win a pair of three day passes for you on our Facebook page. Simply visit our FB and do the following: 

1. Follow us: 2. "Like" the post 3. Name your Riot Fest Denver dream band from this years performers (Vocalist, Guitarist, Bass , Drummer for ex. ours would be Iggy Pop, Frank Black, Bootsy Collins, Demetra Plakas) A random winner will be picked from all the entries that follow the three steps.

Ultra5280: Where did the initial inspiration for moving Riot Fest to multiple cities? It was a risky move since Chicago is such a part of Riot Fest's identity?

Mike: Even in the early years of Riot, I thought that it would work in other cities just because we had a lot of people flying in each year from across North America.  If I remember correctly, we started to receive e-mails and messages from fans in Denver and Colorado starting all the way back in 2008.  And there were way more e-mails coming out of Denver than anywhere else.  Looking back, perhaps it was a calculated thing by a few who wanted it in Denver, but the prodding worked and, in all sincerity, we are thrilled that people wanted us to come back for another year.  The people are awesome, the city is gorgeous and it's one of the best music cities in the states.  It doesn't get better than that.

Ultra5280: With the expansion of the festival you've seen a massive growth in recognition and attendance. What's it been like watching that growth?

Mike: On some level, I stopped paying attention to that stuff because even though it's grown and people know what it is these days, the whole idea behind Riot really hasn't changed much.  Above all else, the most important thing is that when I walk through the crowd -- as I did back in the club days -- people are smiling, having great time and want to be there.  Even with 20,000 people in attendance in Denver, the goal is that people feel like they are a part of something special.

Ultra5280: What does the Riot Fest culture represent to you?

Mike: Corndogs and a whole lotta Gwar.

Ultra5280: What's next in the progression of Riot Fest? Are there any future plans to expand beyond the three cities right now?

Mike: None really. Three cities is plenty and it's not like we are a behemoth like Live Nation or AEG that want to keep expanding... we're just a small indie company trying to put on shows with bands we like.  So, are we going to go into another city in the near future?  Nope.

Ultra5280: Are YOU the Riot Fest Twitter guy?

Mike: No... that's way above my pay grade.  I still operate on MS-DOS.

Ultra5280: Hosting the festival in Chicago is their a competitive nature amongst the other festivals such as Pitchfork and Lolla? (or are they supportive)?

Mike: There is no sense of competition between RF, Lolla and Pitchfork. We all support each other and attend each other's fests. There is room for everyone.


Ultra5280: If you had to pick your Riot Fest all time band who would it be ( 1 vocalist , 1 guitar, 1 bass, 1 drummer) out of all bands you have seen perform?

Mike: Whoaa... that's a tough one.  But if I had to choose... and  mind, you it would be one really fucked up band:
Vocalist: Paul Westerberg (The Replacements)
Guitar: J Mascis (Dinosaur JR)
Bass: Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order)
Drum: Ginger Baker (Cream)

Music | Riot Fest Denver Lineup | Initial Observations

The first wave of lineup announcements for this years Riot Fest Denver have just been announced. We thought we would share our initial observations on some of the names that made the list. The three day festival is set to take place August 28-30 at The National Western Complex. Tickets are currently on sale and be on the lookout for a few ticket giveaways courtesy of your good friends here at Ultra5280.

Source: RunDMC.Com

1. Old School Hip Hop Returns.

The lineup includes hip hop pioneers De La Soul, Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg, Run DMC, GZA and Ice Cube and Special Guests. This can almost make a lineup for those crazy Summer Jams they have at Fiddler's. These are some of the groups I grew up listening to so seeing them years later will definitely bring back some nostalgia. Rumor has it Snoop will be playing the whole Doggystyle record in it's entirety. I remember skipping school just to out and buy this record.

Press Photo

2. Modest Mouse in da House.

Leave it to us to provide for some of the most obnoxious puns. With a new record just released (you can read our review here) Issac Brook and company will be making an appearance at this years festival. Modest Mouse has always garnered this mysterious cult like following all while remaining true to themselves in many ways. We cannot wait to hear a full crowd sing-a-long of "Float On". This will separate the real Modest Mouse fans from those who only know this song.

Photo: Alex Marks

3. Explosions In The Sky!!!!!

These Texans have always maintained a special place in our hearts. With emotional driven melodic pop symphonies, they draw your attention from the get go. Perfect music for those rainy days (Denver has had it's fair share as of late). What better place to see these Texans than at The National Western Complex. For those of you unfamiliar you can find the bands work on many film and television shows including Friday Night Lights. Hearing "Your Hand In Mine" live is already sending chills down our spine.

Carmel Zucker Getty Images

4. The National Western Complex

Third time is a charm. When this was announced as the venue a few months ago there were your typical grumblings about the lack of camping, smell of horse shit, the allergy inducing atmosphere, I could go on. We say lets live outside the box and try something different every year. This time instead of horses and rodeo clowns we will have Iggy Pop and Jack Black, seems like a fair trade off. Besides we cannot wait to see some of the western themed outfits that may come from this.

We all want to know who else will be headlining this year! (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

5. Mystery headliners

There are still a couple artist to be announced. We love the anticipation, for all we know it could be somebody like Faith No More (who actually just booked a Red Rocks show this summer) to Drake (this dude has showed up at every festival anyway so why not). His dad was in town this past weekend, maybe he was doing some scouting who knows! I think this is the first festival where I have seen a non-EDM artist on the bill, which is a little weird. We would love to see some local love by including a few notable acts....pssst...Wiredogs!

Ultra5280's Best Shows of 2014

We love you Denver. From your local talent to your local beer, you've treated us well and we couldn't be more proud of the city you've become. 2014 was a great year for your humble Ultra team, we were able to travel, meet Usher and cover more shows than ever before. In fact, 2014 brought upon a new record of shows covered for us. Reaching from Austin to Denver, we managed to catch over 250 plus shows. Including music festivals from The UMS, Austin City Limits, Westword Music Showcase, and SXSW, this year saw us cover more ground than ever before. It was a challenge narrowing down some of our best shows (and quite nostalgic...). From secret shows to intimate acoustic shows to rooftop sets, 2014 will go down as the best year we have had a chance to cover music. We asked our staff to name their best! Here are The Best Shows of 2014!

Robert Castro | Managing Editor

1. Portugal.The Man | Larimer Lounge | August 20, 2014

2. Arctic Monkeys | Red Rocks | September 4, 2014

3. Outkast | Fiddler's Green | August 22, 2014

4. St. Vincent | Austin City Limits | October 9, 2014

5. Sylvan Esso | Hi-Dive | August 30, 2014

Matt Smith | Photographer

1. Grouplove and Portugal.The Man | Red Rocks | August 21, 2014

2. Alt-J | The Fillmore | October 28, 2014

3. Bleachers | The Bluebird | November 13, 2014

4. Saves The Day and Say Anything | The Ogden | December 13, 2014

5. Thievery Corporation and Tycho | Red Rocks | June 13, 2014

Maddie Casey | Music Editor

1. Jimmy Eat World “Futures” 10yr tour | The Ogden | October 7, 2014

2. twenty | one | pilots | The Ogden | May 16, 2014

3. Riot Fest: In one weekend we saw The Cure, Weezer’s “Blue Album” front to back, In The Whale Take their pants off on stage, and Wu Tang Clan. Safe to say it was amazing for all. (September 19-21st)

4. Phantogram’s Rooftop Set at SXSW | March 12, 2014

5. Lorde | Firstbank Center | September 28, 2014

Mcclain Morris | Lifestyle Editor

1. Portugal.The Man | Larimer Lounge | August 20, 2014

2. Alt-J | The Fillmore | October 28, 2014

3. Shakey Graves | Illegal Pete's South Broadway | December 13, 2014

4. A. Tom Collins at Westword when A. Tom stole a case of wine and went on a drunken rampage about Denver being the best

5. Glass Animals | Larimer Lounge | September 25, 2014