The legendary three-day punk rock music gathering known as Riot Fest returned to Chicago’s historic Douglass Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Dr., where it has been held annually since 2015. From Sept. 18-20, the anti-establishment event embraced raw energy on five stages, each beginning with the letter R: Riot, Roots, Rebel, Rise and Radical.
Historically, punk culture has radically rejected mainstream rules and this mindset has evolved into a deep connection between the rebels and the queers over the years.
Riot’s 2026 live acts included a rainbow of representation and that diversity was reflected in the attendees who purchased wristbands. The LGBTQ+ community was visibly present throughout the weekend to see performers who were also out and proud, such as lead singer Bob Mould from rock band Sugar, who came out as gay in 1994. Other examples of queer entertainers included lesbian non-binary vocalist Alexia Roditis from Destroy Boys and Mom Jeans’ front-person Eric Butler, who identifies as non-binary and queer.
The queerest of the queer this year at this nonconforming meetup was seen in Canadian garage band NOBRO, with three bandmates identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ alphabet. For the collective’s latest tune, “Girls Like Us” the founder Kathryn McCaughey described the track as “an anthem for everyone who feels pressure to be pushed to the margins, including women and trans people. We wanted to make a song that would start a revolution and create a space for our community to feel powerful.”
NOBRO’s drummer Andy Silver stated backstage, “I don’t look like other drummers and that sometimes makes me question who I am. We all need to be out here representing who we are in a year with an important election. Playing drums is how I express myself and being queer is a gift.”
Trans-led band The Iron Roses, which includes co-frontwomen Natasha Gray and Becky Fontaine, raged at the Radical Stage on Saturday afternoon. When asked how the two met, Becky replied, “We met on the Internet and now after 10 years we are inseparable.”
Gray broke down the process by saying, “I am 54 years old and I came out after going in and out of the closet in all kinds of ways where I was hiding things. Finally, the dam broke and that was it.”
DeathbyRomy—Romy Flores—showed her support of the queer community before her strong set at the Radical Stage by saying, “It’s important now more than ever to stand up for the safety of women and trans people because their rights are currently being stripped away. I want people to know that my shows are a safe space. I hear from LGBTQ+ fans all the time because I speak up for them and I refuse to be silent about it.”
Several of the artists stopped to chat with WCT about their connections to the community. Glixen’s lead singer Aislinn Ritchie said her favorite gay-owned establishment locally in Arizona, where the band is from, is Charlie’s Phoenix because of the tasty tacos served in the place.
Straight-identifying Welsh band Panic Shack confessed their mutual love of RuPaul’s Drag Race and they gushed about seeing drag artist Discord from the 18th season in the crowd at Riot Fest earlier in the day.
Washington, D.C. duo Teen Mortgage followed five minutes after Panic Shack finished their set. Backstage, vocalist/guitarist James Guile articulated his happiness to be playing in the Windy City and expressed his admiration for The Blues Brothers, while drummer Ed Barkauskas was amped up about seeing English musician Tricky perform live at the fest. Guile said Teen Mortgage’s upcoming album will have a new wave sound with a B-52s’ “Rock Lobster” vibe throughout the project.
Multigenre group Greet Death blasted through a 30-minute playlist before Slothrust took to the Radical Stage in the afternoon. The Boston band Slothrust released a record titled What They Grow in the Garden on Sept. 18, the same day they performed at Riot Fest.
Queer, genderfluid lead singer of Slothrust, Leah Wellbaum, stated after their set, “Amongst the new songs we love playing, “00101001” is my favorite. It was produced by Willy Beaman, who is our resident piano player and also gay. Vocally, I try to channel Ursula from The Little Mermaid. My dream is for someone to hear me sing and that leads me to voiceover work as a villainous queer character.”
Riot grrrl band Bratmobile relaxed in the media area after their fast-tempo performance on the Rise Stage. Band member Alison Wolfe took time out to reminisce about the length of her career and spoke fondly of being raised with a lesbian mom who changed the course of her life.
The organizers of Riot Fest booked the Sex Pistols again this year after guitarist Steve Jones broke his wrist in 2025, forcing the Brits to cancel. Fronted by hardcore singer Frank Carter, the original members of the Sex Pistols, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook, have continued to celebrate their 50th anniversary together and Carter created a frenzy that Friday as he bolted into the pit of loyal fans to interact with them.
The first day was a success, thanks to a variety of memorable acts designed to keep the crowds moving from stage to stage. The night’s festivities concluded with the “Godfather of Punk” Iggy Pop, surf rockers Pixies and radio-friendly duo Twenty One Pilots belting out the hits.
Chicago-based emo band Aim High kicked off Saturday, Sept. 19’s lineup and the lead vocalist Calebjustcaleb told WCT that their popular video for the single “Gender Neutral Happy Meal” was filmed in Chicago.
Alternative rock ensemble Asava played next on an opposing stage, then queer-identifying drummer Spencer Cindia from the five-piece band explained backstage the collaborative effort involved in creating heavy, stylized music videos. Lead vocalist Liam Brocious described their musical videography: “Our videos are getting better and better as we go along. We have to film the finale of the noir series after we finish here at Riot Fest before we start something new.”
Creativity was showcased in every corner of the park as Quebec’s experimental two-piece Angine de Poitrine had watchers signaling to them. Donned in paper mache masks and wearing black-and-white polka-dotted frocks, Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine brought math rock to the party people who gathered in front of the Riot Stage. For those not schooled in Math Rock, it is a rhythmically complex form of music that changes time signatures frequently.
This orchestration set the stage for Public Image Ltd to present a debut performance at Riot Fest. The original Sex Pistols’ frontman John Lydon, now 70 years old, still sounded like his younger days with his recognizable wail and delivery of lyrics in a shortened set. Lydon complained, “We only have 20 minutes to entertain you.”
The usually dreary Morrissey surprised some of the doubters by not canceling and appeared on time at 5:10 p.m. Even though his act was shortened to 45 minutes, he still slipped in The Smiths classic “How Soon Is Now?” and cherry-picked tracks from his elaborate solo recording catalog. Morrissey vented, “The rain, the mud, the thunder, the lightning, we are all going to die,” then shook a pink tambourine to “Billy Budd” before another announcement of “I am pleased to be here alive with you. It’s a miracle.”
After that, Tool’s set was moved to 6 p.m. to close the park early in anticipation of the upcoming rainfall. Rapper Nas apparently missed the memo and hit the Rise Stage until around 9 p.m. as the storm slowly rolled into the West Side of Chicago.
Riot revelers woke up to discover Sunday was not a fun day after the constant flow of rain flooded the park overnight. Philadelphia-based band Remember Sports was one of several live acts who lost their scheduled spots because of inclement weather.
Indie group The Format fortunately held onto their hour-long engagement and singer Nate Ruess mentioned beforehand, “I was just saying the other day how I usually love the rain, but no, not today.”
The terrain became a challenge and solid ground became increasingly difficult to find as fans marched through the mud from The Format over to see Patti Smith perform cover songs beginning with her 1988 classic “People Have the Power.”
Macseal’s lesbian drummer Frankie Impastato managed to stay dry under a tent in the media and said, “We didn’t know if we were going to play today or not, so there was no time to be nervous. We just went out there in the drizzle and did it.”
As the downpour continued, Sincere Engineer’s singer-songwriter Deanna Belos cozied up backstage and spoke about the origin of her moniker: “It was something I heard in an interview with The Lawrence Arms, a band I really liked. I started it as a solo project in 2015 and now, 11 years later, I am playing a cover set of The Hives at the Cobra Lounge on Halloween. What a crazy life!”
Texas band Bowling for Soup’s name described these slippery conditions to a tee as the gray colored mire became more like quicksand than typical brown mud.
Chicago meteorologist Tom Skilling was the perfect pick to provide live commentary about the ever-changing weather conditions over the weekend. Skilling’s warning didn’t stop those on a mission for the final frontier to see Star Trek actor William Shatner on the Rebel Stage. Backed by seasoned musicians known as The *uckers, Shatner boldly went where no other 95-year-old had gone before with a spoken-word set while he smiled from ear to ear.
Along with cover songs such as Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” he showcased a new song, “Rage” from his upcoming album What the F Is Heavy Metal? scheduled for release this winter.
Diehard festival-goers powered through the sludge to see angst queen Alanis Morissette, British pop-punk Elvis Costello and controversial hip-hop act Insane Clown Posse on different stages at the close of the messy fest.
Riot Fest continued capitalizing on chaos and a campy William Shatner was a soggy step in the right direction. Witty humor, fondness for nostalgia and creative theatrical attractions were on display across Douglass Park for three days. Loyal patrons of the musical carnival were treated to an unforgettable experience that an onslaught of water could not extinguish.
The festival was relocated from the Humboldt Park neighborhood to Douglass Park after a similar heavy rain damaged the surrounding community grounds. Contractually, Riot returns to the North Lawndale area from Sept. 17-19, 2027 and a limited number of presale tickets are currently offered at riotfest.org.