It’s exciting, right? Seeing festivals like Riot Fest announce their 2021 lineup and believing that three days of live music really are coming to Chicago in September and it’s going to be awesome. Yes, it’s exciting.

Riot Fest 2021 hits Douglass Park in Chicago, IL on September 17, 18 and 19, 2021. With a list of performers announced (so far) 67 acts including big headliners, awesome supporting talent, legends, up-and-comers, and everything in between.

3-day passes for the festival have already sold out (sorry about your luck) but single-day passes do go on sale next week (click here for the Riot Fest Ticket Page). So there’s still a chance you’ll get to see some of your favourites, dance and party with your pals and some strangers, and enjoy the early autumn in the Windy City.

Since the announcement of the lineup, I’ve been looking at the poster and imagining seeing some of these acts now and back in the day when I had them in higher rotation. New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday, NOFX… that’s a selection I’m into. However, when we did put down acts on our Don’t Miss Acts section, I didn’t include those acts – I picked five others that you should try to see at Riot Fest 2021.

Now’s the part where we say what we’re feeling other than excitement. Please be safe if you’re planning to go to Douglass Park for the fest. Please be vaccinated, please wear a mask if that makes you feel comfortable, please don’t bother people who make that choice. Please don’t put other people at risk. Please take care of yourself and others.

We really really really are looking forward to live music and concerts and festivals, and being able to look at a festival lineup like this one and smile and imagine the crowd reactions and the sounds. We hope you are too.

Riot Fest 2021 (September 17, 18, 19, 2021)

2021 Riot Fest Headliners

★ Nine Inch Nails
★ The Smashing Pumpkins
★ Run The Jewels

2021 Riot Fest Don’t Miss Acts

★ Fever 333
★ Pup
★ K.Flay
★ Mother Mother
★ Simple Plan

Full 2021 Riot Fest Lineup!

★ Nine Inch Nails
☆ The Smashing Pumpkins
★ Run The Jewels
☆ Pixies
★ Faith No More
☆ Devo
★ Mr. Bungle
☆ Coheed and Cambria
★ Taking Back Sunday
☆ Dirty Heads
★ Sublime with Rome
☆ Lupe Fiasco (Performing The Cool)
★ Vic Mensa
☆ NOFX
★ New Found Glory
☆ Circle Jerks
★ Simple Plan
☆ Dinosaur Jr.
★ The Ghost Inside
☆ Gogol Bordello
★ Motion City Soundtrack
☆ Thrice
★ Circa Survive
☆ State Champs
★ The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
☆ K.Flay
★ Best Coast
☆ Bayside
★ The Lawrence Arms
☆ Les Savy Fav
★ Meg Myers
☆ Beach Bunny
★ Big Freedia
☆ Mayday Parade
★ Pup
☆ Andrew W.K.
★ The Bled
☆ Gwar
★ Fever 333
☆ Living Colour
★ Saves The Day
☆ Thursday
★ The Sounds
☆ Mother Mother
★ Hepcat
☆ Alex G
★ Anti-Flag
☆ Joywave
★ Fishbone
☆ Fucked Up
★ Kennyhoopla
☆ Health
★ The Gories
☆ Amigo The Devil
★ White Lung
☆ Ratboys
★ Beach Goons
☆ Eyedress
★ Meet Me @ The Altar
☆ Night Moves
★ Seratones
☆ Just Friends
★ Radkey
☆ Holy Fawn
★ Melkbelly
☆ Ganser
★ Hospital Bracelet
☆ AND MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!

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Joshua Murray

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