Location. Location. Location.
The real estate mantra took on a whole new meaning with the official announcement Wednesday morning that Riot Fest is leaving Douglass Park and heading to SeatGeek Stadium, 7000 S. Harlem Ave., in Bridgeview for an extravaganza newly dubbed RiotLand.
The festival, which runs September 20-22, will feature more than 90 bands and encompass RiotLand, an immersive “choose your own adventure” world, Wednesday’s announcement said.
On Wednesday, we also announced the complete programming (see below) for the three-day festival, which brings together Slayer, Fall Out Boy, Pavement, St. Vincent, Beck, Rob Zombie, the Offspring, Bright Eyes, Sublime (featuring Jakob Nowell, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson), Dr. Dog and more .
Two-day (starting at $189.98) and three-day (starting at $249.98) passes are now on sale at tixr.com. Single and multi-day parking passes, starting at $39 each, are also on sale on site. Information on area hotels offering discounted rates for festival dates is available at Crewfare.com.
“We’re happy to have them,” Village of Bridgeview spokesman Ray Hanania told the Sun-Times Wednesday. “I think we give them a bigger venue, we have more parking and we have other resources that we can offer them to facilitate what they’re trying to do.” Hanania noted that Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash festival did the same thing last year and “they work really well.”
Some of the highlights of the RiotLand interactive/immersive experience (full details will be announced in the coming weeks) include:
— NOFX World: A stage/space dedicated to the music of punk rockers NOFX, led by Fat Mike;
— Tribute areas to filmmaker Kevin Smith with: Quick Stop: an immersive reconstruction of the famous “Clerks” convenience store and a “Mallrats” themed activity zone;
— Cabaret Metro Stage: A tribute to the Chicago concert hall.
Returning to the festival will be the wedding chapel, skate ramp, free arcade games, mini golf and the Hellzapoppin circus.
News of the big move was announced Tuesday evening via a video statement on social media from festival co-founder Mike Petryshyn, better known as “Riot Mike.” In his statement, Petryshyn placed responsibility for the decision on the Chicago Park District.
“Riot Fest will be leaving Douglass Park,” Petryshyn wrote. “And – let me be as clear as the azure sky of deepest summer – our exodus is solely due to the Chicago Park District.”
Riot Fest co-founder Michael Petryshyn, also known as “Riot Mike,” sits down for an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times at the Riot Fest offices in River West, Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
In a letter to the media Wednesday morning, 24th Ward Ald. Monique Scott expressed her own disappointment with the park district’s approval process for permits for the festival, which has been held at her neighborhood park since 2015.
“I want to express my strong support for Riot Fest and the need to address the challenges they faced through the Chicago Park District process, which ultimately led to the festival’s decision to relocate.
“The park district has acknowledged that the festival has far exceeded minimum approval requirements and is expected to receive approval at the June 12 board meeting. This decision, although appropriate, came too late. Per park district policy, initial approval should have been granted in April.
Irene Tostado, a spokeswoman for the park district, said in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday that the agency had learned “indirectly” of Riot Fest’s plans to pull out of Douglass Park, but that the request to permit for the event had been filed. was not removed.
“The Chicago Park District has worked tirelessly to balance the interests of the community and our special event organizers,” Tostado said. “Community voices are essential to our decision-making process, which is why a comprehensive community engagement process is a necessary element in evaluating a permit application. Last year, Riot Fest organizers completed this process, received a permit, and held their event at Douglass Park.
Tostado noted that the park district announced a new initiative this year to reinvest a portion of event fund revenue into parks that host events with 3,000 or more attendees.
The new location, about 15 miles southwest of the city, is sure to pose a transportation problem for thousands of festival-goers who used public transportation to get to and from the festival.
Riot Fest is the third music festival to leave Douglass Park. Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash festival moved to SeatGeek Stadium last year, and the 2024 event is scheduled for this weekend at the suburban venue. The Heatwave music festival also moved from the park to the Huntington Bank Pavilion on the North Island in 2023.
Riot Fest moved to Douglass Park in 2015 after complaints from neighbors at its previous location in Humboldt Park. Complaints followed the festival to its new location. Residents and community organizers had long campaigned for Riot Fest and other summer music festivals to leave Douglass Park. They claimed the festivals disrupted patients at nearby Mount Sinai Hospital and strained park resources for local residents.
Supporters of the festival have pointed to the benefits of economic recovery for the region through increased foot traffic.
Riot Fest 2024 lineup
Action/Adventure
ALL
Basement
Beach Bunny
Beck
Sparkling eyes
Brutus
Buzzcocks
Circle jerks
Clutch
Cobra skulls
Defendants Code
Cursive
cypress hill
DO A
Descendants
Dillinger four
Scroll of Doom
Dr. Dog
Church of drugs
Face to face
Fall out Boy
Violin head
Games we play
FREEZE
Dead
HUBBUB
HEALTH
Heart attack man
Home front
Hot Mulligan
Huge Eugé
Jack Kays
Jhariah
LSDunes
Develop
Lamb of God
Laura Jane Grace + Cat Bite
Mike liquid
Lord of the Lost
Without love
Manchester Orchestra
Mastodon
Necrogoblicon
New glory found
NOFX
Olivier Tree
Pavement
Pennywise
Pixel handle
Poison the well
Polaris
The princess goes
Public enemy
Rival sons
Rob Zombie
Saxsquatch
Sincere engineer
Mister Chloe
Slaughter beach, dog
Killer
Something corporate
Souls of Malice
Spiritual cramp
Spoon
SPRINT
Saint Vincent
State Champions
Threaded
Gorgeous
Suicidal tendencies
Sum 41
Tsunami
Soft pill
Swingin’ Pronounce
Resume on Sunday
Aces
Arms
The scissor
The dead milkmen
The defiant
The Dickies
The exploited
Hives
The weapons of Laurent
The Marleys (Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian)
Mysteries
Offspring
Vandals
The warning
Tierra Whack
Screw
Urethane
banned
Waxahatchee
Fighter Winona
Zheani
Contributor: Sophie Sherry