Whew, it was a little bit of a bumpy ride, wasn’t it?

After calling Chicago’s Douglass Park home for almost 10 years, Riot Fest 2024 launched its lineup with the announcement that they’d be moving to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. Reportedly, the long-running event had been unable to reach an agreement with the Chicago Park District, and as a result had to move about 40 minutes southeast. Almost exactly two months later, however, and just two months before the gates were set to open, Riot Fest organizers unveiled plans for a last-minute return to Douglass Park. So, with all of the logistical stress, how did Riot Fest 2024 fare?

Pretty damn well, actually. With a deep, varied lineup at its disposal, Riot Fest was able to overcome venue changes and slightly less-than-ideal weather (Saturday was hot as hell, Sunday was wet as hell) to deliver a memorable, fist-pump-worthy weekend of music. With Fall Out Boy, Beck, Pavement, and (fuckin’) Slayer topping the bill, the event offered just about every flavor of “punk music” a fan could ask for, keeping genre purists and musical omnivores equally happy.

Here’s a recap of the most notable moments from Riot Fest 2024, a year that had the potential to be a shit show, but instead was as rock-solid as ever.

Welcome to Riotland

While Riot Fest 2024 had no shortage of killer bands to catch, there was also a host of expressly non-musical affairs with which to involve yourself. There were rows of vendors (including alternative clothing brands, record stores, and various local goodies), official merch stands, and plenty of food and drink options. Above all, however, there was Riotland, a new edition to the Riot-verse that reimagines the festival as a punk rock carnival from another dimension.

While on paper it might come across as ever so slightly gimmicky, Riot Fest put genuine work into pulling together a mini carnival. There were rides, fried fair food, and a full-on arcade complete with an animatronic band. Even wilder, there was a Riot Fest chapel, wrestling events hosted by the National Wrestling Alliance, a burlesque show from Striporama, the circus sideshow Hellzapoppin, and a partridge in a pear tree.

One could have spent the weekend exploring Riotland alone. Really, the main problem with it was that, for all of the effort put into it, there just wasn’t enough time in the day to do it all between the approximately six thousand bands that were worth seeing. A classic Riot Fest conundrum, indeed.