During its infancy, Riot Fest was an indoor event, not the outdoor mecca we know it to be now.

From 2005 through 2011, the Chicago festival was primarily a multi-venue deal, anchored at the Congress Theater but it expanded over the years to clubs including the famous Metro, Double Door, Cobra Lounge, Bottom Lounge, Subterranean, House of Blues and others.

Humboldt Park was a fitting place for Riot Fest to evolve to. The 200-acre West Side park with lagoons and meadows goes back to the 19th century, plus it was in the founder's neighborhood.

“When I brought up having Riot in Humboldt Park, everyone looked at me like I was crazy," Mike Petryshyn remembered. "But I mean, I lived there. I was literally steps away and I loved the park. Everyone in the office lived nearby, too. So why not have it there?”

Unlike typical rock fests, he added multiple stages, carnival rides, a wrestling ring, sideshow attractions and it brought in tens of thousands of people who were down. 2012 was also the first time the punk-leaning bash took place in September, after previous incarnations had been held in July.

Even though hindsight is 20/20, at the time Riot Mike was nervous they had staged something so epic, not enough would attend.

“We didn’t feel big enough yet. I was terrified it wouldn’t do well,” Petryshyn admitted.

But he built it, booked it, and they came to see the likes of Descendents, NOFX, Alkaline Trio, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Gogol Bordello, Coheed and Cambria, the Gaslight Anthem, GWAR, The Offspring, and many others, including...

Dropkick Murphys (9/15)

The timing of the Dropkick Murphys appearance couldn't have been better planned for their appearance at Riot Fest in 2012 as they had already finished recording Signed and Sealed in Blood that summer, but the album would not drop until January of '13 for some reason.

Within weeks of the fest, they would begin unveiling the new era, playing songs from the forthcoming LP live and ultimately releasing “Rose Tattoo” in November.

At Riot Fest five of their 16 tunes were off Signed and Sealed in Blood which ended up debuting at #9 on the Billboard 200, which culminated in their first headlining gig at Boston’s TD Garden.

They have a few shows left in the States before they go down under with Rise Against in November. Get your tix here.

Rise Against (9/15)

Rise Against came home to the Windy to headline Saturday in the middle of the 190-stop tour for Endgame. Their 15-song set was pretty evenly mixed between the newer jams and fan faves.

But the magic moment was when Descendents singer Milo Aukerman and drummer Bill Stevenson joined Rise Against to cover Black Flag’s “Jealous Again.”

It's a tune they only did one other time before and once after, but never again alongside the punk legends like Milo and Bill. Stevenson co-produced Endgame, which would make you think they'd do something like that a few more times, but nope. One and done, as they say.

Endgame became Rise Against’s highest-charting album, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200.

Gwar (9/15)

Antarctica's finest export were on their Fate or Chaos Tour and still smarting after the November 2011 death of guitarist Cory Smoot aka Flattus Maximus. Brent Purgason joined Gwar in 2012 as Pustulus Maximus and would make his album debut on Battle Maximus (2013).

Sadly that album would become the last GWAR studio album featuring longtime frontman Dave Brockie as Oderus Urungus. Brockie died in March 2014 at age 50, but the band continued, eventually bringing former bassist Mike Bishop back as new lead singer, Blöthar the Berserker.

Their appearance was Gwar's first at the Fest and it must have clicked because according to our stats, no one has played it more than the scumdogs of the universe.

Gwar is touring all over North America after this year's Riot Fest leaving a path of blood and laughter in their wake.

If you haven't seen them live, put on something you don't mind getting stained, and get your booty into the pit.

Gor Gor Must Die Tour 2026

9/19 Capitol Theatre, Davenport, IA
9/20 The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
9/22 Satellite Music Hall, Memphis, TN
9/23 Chelsea's Live, Baton Rouge, LA
9/24 Fantastic Fest, Austin, TX
10/27 The Jefferson Theater, Charlottesville, VA
10/28 The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
10/29 FIVE, Jacksonville, FL
10/30-11/3 Headbangers Boat, Miami, FL
11/4 Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale, FL
11/5 The Beacham, Orlando, FL
11/6 House of Blues Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, SC
11/7 The Ramkat, Winston-Salem, NC
11/8 Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, Nashville, TN
11/9 The Hall, Little Rock, AR
11/10 AM/FM, Dallas, TX
11/12 Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
11/13 The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
11/14 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
11/15 Cargo Concert Hall, Reno, NV
11/17 Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
11/18 House of Blues Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
11/19 The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall, Berkeley, CA
11/20 Senator Theatre, Chico, CA
11/21 Midtown Ballroom, Bend, OR
11/23 Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA
11/24 Knitting Factory, Spokane, WA
11/25 Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
11/27 Midway Music • Arcade • Kitchen, Edmonton, AB, Canada
11/28 MacEwan Hall, Calgary, AB, Canada
11/30 Burton Cummings Theatre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
12/2 Bourbon Theatre, Lincoln, NE
12/3 The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
12/4 The Crofoot, Pontiac, MI
12/5 House of Blues Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
12/6 Roxian Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
12/8 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
12/9 The Palladium, Worcester, MA
12/10 Palladium Times Square, New York, NY
12/11 The Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
12/12 The NorVa, Norfolk, VA

See more setlists from Riot Fest 2012 here.

Riot Fest 2026 goes down this weekend, September 18-20 in Douglas Park.