Riot Fest – the annual 3-day Chicago music festival – ended its 2019 rocking presence on September 15 after a fantastic celebration of their 15th anniversary, but the riot spirit is here to stay. 

    Riot Fest’s closing Sunday line-up consisted of celebrated artists like Ween, Blink-182. Slayer, The B-52’s, The Raconteurs (led by Jack White from the White Stripes), and Patti Smith, which was plenty to pack and discharge for arguably the best day of the festival. Amongst the best moments of the day was the monstrous wall-of-death mosh pit that was unleashed with wholesome fury during the Village People’s performance of their smash hit YMCA. Petey, ‘22, described the moment as “a beautiful homage to self-love” while Anton, ‘21, had some harsh words; “I don’t get why people go crazy over such a stupid song, go listen to better music”.  Around was a plethora of joyous folks all ages and sizes, and though the name “wall-of-death” might conjure images of violence and disorder, no one is more considerate about everyone else’s well-being than a Riot Fest crowd having a good time. 

    Acclaimed 70’s new wave act – the B-52’s – took the stage later than night and after a setlist packed with hits after hits (52 Girls, Roam, Loveshack), they closed their one hour performance with a nearly eight minute rendition of their loved first single; “Rock Lobster”. To close the night, cult band Ween took the stage and performed their critically acclaimed 1997 album The Mollusk in its entirety. “Ween are one of my favorite bands, and the Mollusk is one of my favorite albums, so seeing them perform the whole thing at the top of their game 22 years later is a case of stars aligning” said Marek, ‘20. 

    Riot Fest 2019 may have ended this last weekend, but fans are already anticipating next year’s line-up with a passion fully warranted by the festival’s crowd-pleasing 15 year-long run.