Last week Riot Fest’s organizers announced a big coup—a headlining set by the Original Misfits—and this morning they released the rest of the lineup. High on the list is woebegone balladeer Morrissey, a notoriously finicky performer with a history of bailing on tours (if you want a list of the shows he’s canceled, a couple years ago Tumblr user Torr compiled a brief history). Morrissey nixed a gig in Iceland last year when he found out the venue served meat—in 2013 he got the Staples Center in LA to close its McDonald’s stands for his performance, so I’m curious whether the Riot Fest vendors hawking turkey legs will shut down for the day. Morrissey is only playing Riot Fest in Chicago, not its preceding Denver date, and he’s one of the big attractions that will draw folks to Douglas Park. Among the other heavy hitters on the bill are Ween, Death Cab for Cutie, Refused, the Specials, Nas, Jimmy Eat World, Deftones, Brand New, and Rob Zombie performing the 1995 White Zombie album Astro-Creep: 2000.
Mr. Zombie isn’t the only one revisiting an album in its entirety. Social Distortion will play 1996’s White Light, White Heat, White Trash, and the Hold Steady will play 2006’s Boys and Girls in America. And it wouldn’t be Riot Fest without plenty of reunions—besides the ghoulish Jersey boys, the lineup includes aughties screamo outfit Thursday and turn-of-the-millennium emo band the Anniversary. (Posthardcore group Girls Against Boys are performing too, but they reunited three years ago.) Riot Fest continues to book plenty of hip-hop acts, among them old favorites (GZA, Method Man & Redman, People Under the Stairs, the aforementioned Nas), young heroes (Joey Bada$$, Denzel Curry), and lightning rods Death Grips (who also have a reputation as no-shows). And while the usual suspects appear (Gwar, Andrew W.K., NOFX), the festival is clearly keen on showcasing newer punk bands with plenty of music-critic cred (White Lung), fourth-wave emo champs (Tigers Jaw, Balance & Composure), and blossoming young punk acts (All Dogs, Tancred). There are curveballs too, including Dan Deacon, Jake Bugg, and, um, Chevy Metal, the cover band Taylor Hawkins plays in when he’s not busy with Foo Fighters.
So far Riot Fest hasn’t confirmed many locals—pop-punk veterans Smoking Popes and power-pop newbies the Walters are among the few Chicago acts on the bill as it now stands. But the festival has another round of acts to announce, so there’s room for improvement. Three-day passes are on sale right now; the festival runs September 16 through 18. Check out the current lineup below, which includes links to relevant Reader coverage:
