Riot Fest
Douglas Park
Chicago, IL
September 14-17, 2018
Words and Photos by Micki Harris
Consistently each year, Riot Fest is the last hurrah of the Chicago punk’s summer. From all ends of the city, state, country, and even the world, folks convene in Douglas Park, a small neighborhood on Chicago’s south side with a spacious park perfectly fit for the 60,000+ pairs of combat boots that stomp around throughout the weekend.
This year, all three days truly felt representative of what summer is pictured to be – bright blue, clear skies accompanied by warm, thick air, and in terms of the average Riot Fest goer – not a care in the world.
The weekend was full of energetic acts to watch like Bad Religion, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Pussy Riot, The Wonder Years, and more. As usual, the crowd contained a vast variation of age groups, being that there truly was something for alternative consumers of all ends of the spectrum.
This year’s Riot Fest left us all with post festival Monday blues, and got us all itching for September 2019.
