See the gallery of images spanning three days of epic performances from AFI, Turnstile, Code Orange, The Used, Pennywise, Mr. Bungle, Drain, The Interrupters, Death Grips and so many more.
Quickly approaching two decades as a domestic fixture of festival excellence, Chicago’s Riot Fest delivered the goods for their 2023 installment. True to form, the fest continued it’s tradition of showcasing exclusive performances, with bands taking on album plays – a rarity given the amount of diversity of the roster.
For example, Gorilla Biscuits played the influential, Start Today. Kim Deal and The Breeders performed Last Splash. Quicksand performed Slip, while Braid took on Frame & Canvas. Even the headliners got in on the action with Saturday’s tandem of The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie playing Give Up and Transatlanticism respectively.
It’s that kind of fandom – the fandom that leans into the specificity of certain albums that makes Riot Fest such a remarkable experience. Obviously created by fans, for fans, the diversity of the line-up also speaks to the kind of range that make a good festival line-up a memorably great event.
While on paper connecting the likes of Turnstile and Parliament Funkadelic, Viagra Boys and Insane Clown Posse, The Used and Godspeed You! Black Emperor might be a tough task, the environment of Riot Fest is such that each stage, each artist, each set manages to compliment the next, regardless of how broad the artistic range is.
From punk, hardcore, indie, metal and the nuanced tiers of each in between, Riot Fest asserted a distinct sense of curation that not only emphasizes their expertise, but their collective great musical taste. The result was one hell of a three day party.
Check the comprehensive photo gallery from all three days covered by Knotfest contributing photographer, Justin Nuoffer.
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