Did you miss Riot Fest this year? Or want to relive those last days of summer seeing your favorite bands? Good news! Fellow Dying Scene contributor Meredith Goldberg and I have all the photos you’ll need of the three-day music festival held in Chicago from September 16-18th, 2022.
We are recapping some of the bands from day one here with the live premiere of supergroup L.S. Dunes, one of my personal favorites Destroy Boys, along with Foxy Shazam, Bob Vylan, Boston Manor and Pale Waves.
The day kicked off with UK pop punk/synth pop band Pale Waves who released their third studio album Unwanted about a month prior. They were the first of several bands that travelled to the fest from the UK. Pretty cool!
Boston Manor is next coming from (you guessed it) the UK (Blackpool, England to be exact). This pop punk/post-hardcore band was featured on Punk Goes Pop Vol. 7 in 2017 for their rendition of Twenty One Pilots’ “Heathens”.
One of the beautiful things about music festivals is discovering new bands you may have never otherwise heard of. The two-piece English band Bob Vylan is exactly that; I never knew I needed them in my life until I saw them at Riot Fest. This gritty-abrasive rap punk duo blew me away with their energy and unapologetic outcries against government oppression and xenophobia. The pair is vocalist Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan, together becoming Bob Vylan!
Glam rock stars Foxy Shazam dominated the fest with their dazzling performance (and attire) and quickly became a crowd favorite. There was so much happening on stage, one minute you see keyboardist Schuyler White jumping into the crowd WITH his keyboard, and the next there’s guitarist Devon Williams balancing his guitar in the air with his mouth. Absolute insanity.
Next up is a band I’ve been digging for the last year. I first saw Destroy Boys in December 2021 at the Cobra Lounge in Chicago and was excited to see they were on the line up for Riot Fest this year. Definitely listen to “Locker Room Bully” and “Crybaby” when you get the chance.
Finally, we have L.S. Dunes! They are the post-hardcore supergroup fronted by Circa Survive and Saosin vocalist Anthony Green, with My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero, Coheed and Cambria guitarist Travis Stever, and Thursday bassist Tim Payne and drummer Tucker Rule. They made their live debut at Riot Fest with heavy riffs and aggressive energy, certainly living up to the hype we were all hoping for. Be sure to check out their album Past Lives when it drops on November 11, 2022.
Check out the rest of the photos below and stay tuned for day two!
