Riot Fest headliners for 2025 will be Green Day, Blink-182, Weezer and Jack White, along with sets by the Sex Pistols and The Beach Boys (current lineups), Weird Al Yankovic, Idles, Alkaline Trio and All Time Low.
The three-day festival of punk and alternative music will be back in Douglass Park this summer with an all-star lineup of bands for its 20th anniversary, running Sept. 19-21 as part of a new, multi-year agreement with the Chicago Park District. Tickets (2-DAY and 3-DAY) are on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Other bands and performers in the first-wave announcement Wednesday include Idles, Rilo Kiley, Knocked Loose, Jawbreaker, Dropkick Murphys, Bad Religion, The Pogues, The Hold Steady, The Front Bottoms, The Academy Is …, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes, Texas Is The Reason, Knuckle Puck, The Wonder Years, Dance Hall Crashers, James, Sparks, Hanson, The Bouncing Souls, The Damned, Inhaler, Rico Nasty, Screeching Weasel, Citizen, Senses Fail, Microwave, Free Throw, Dehd, The Linda Lindas, Panchiko, Buzzcocks, Superchunk, Militarie Gun, The Cribs, Stiff Little Fingers, Shudder To Think, Helmet, Toche’ Amore’, Pegboy, Honey Revenge, Marky Ramone Plays The Ramones, The Ataris, Camper Van Beethoven, Marianas Trench, The Didjits, Agnostic Front, Thrown, Lambrini Girls, Ovlov, Soft Play, Smoking Popes, Puddles Pity Party, H2O, Juila Wolf, Violent Vira, Delta Sleep, Mac Sabbath, Chase Petra, Wishy, The Effigies, Girl In A Coma, Samiam, The Tossers, Shonen Knife, Zero Boys, Speed of Light, The Paradox, The Barbarians of California, Agent Orange, Quannic, Harrison Gordon, Weakend Friends, Dune Rats, Footballhead, Big Ass Trick I.E., Cliffdiver, Loviet and Emo Phillips.
The initial lineup comes on the heels of news earlier this month that the independently owned Riot Fest reached an agreement with the city to stay in Douglass Park for at least the next three years, while increasing its spending on improvements for the park.
Under the terms of the deal, reached April 9 at the monthly meeting of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners, Riot Fest will remain in the park in the North Lawndale neighborhood through 2027, with an option to extend through 2029. Starting this summer, Riot Fest will contribute 30% of its revenue from the event to capital improvements in the park, up from 10% in previous years.
Riot Fest will be granted a daily capacity of 50,000 per day for 2025, the 20th year for the festival and its 13th year in Chicago parks. Additionally, festival dates this year have been changed to not overlap with the Mexican Independence Day Parade, and Riot Fest has pledged to leave open as much of the park area it uses south of Ogden Avenue as possible during setup and teardown, running from Sept. 10-26.
Proceeds from Riot Fest will total $3 million to $4.5 million for the Park District through the end of the agreement in 2029, said Park District deputy director of revenue Lauren Quinn, with roughly $1 million of that going to the park for improvements.
City agreements with Lollapalooza and Sueños in Grant Park and ARC Music Festival in Union Park were also discussed at the April meeting.
The debate over Riot Fest’s location reached a peak last year, when the music festival announced it would relocate to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The festival has been criticized for its use of a city park and for fencing off its footprint from the surrounding community; opponents of the festival also spoke at the April meeting. In 2024, after Park District permit approval and the support of Ald. Monique Scott, 24th, Riot Fest reversed its decision and returned to the park, where it has been since 2015 after moving from Humboldt Park.
“It’s not about a single weekend. It’s about building something that lasts,” Riot Fest organizer Mike Petryshyn, who goes by Riot Mike, said in part in a recent statement.
Riot Fest also makes efforts to support residents of the surrounding neighborhoods with employment opportunities and free tickets through its Beyond the Fest initiatives.
The announcement Wednesday said 2025 Riot Fest would have more than 90 performers in all, with a next announcement coming 10 a.m. Thursday. Along with music and comedians in this year’s lineup, festival-goers can expect the festival’s usual assortment of carnival rides, sideshow tents, and vendors, including a promised increased emphasis on food vendors from the surrounding community.
Riot Fest will be Sept. 19-21 in Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive, entrance at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Sacramento. Ticket tiers include general admission, VIP, Deluxe and Deluxe +. Tickets and more information at riotfest.org
dgeorge@chicagotribune.com
