Nas, Fitz and Rob Zombie join Misfits for Riot Fest in Chicago
Riot Fest organizers already delivered the first volley in the war to win fest-goer's summer spending money with last week's announcement about the Misfits reunion headlining the Sept. 16-18 music festival in Chicago's Douglas Park.
Today's announcement of a partial lineup should earn them a few more Chicago-area fans.
In addition to the Misfits (featuring Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only and Wolfgang Von Frankenstein), other fest highlights include alternative rocker and former Smiths frontman Morrissey; the legendary Bob Mould; indie popsters Fitz & The Tantrums; Swedish rock band The Hives; metal guru Rob Zombie's performance of his band White Zombie's “Astro-Creep: 2000”; and lo-fi indie rockers Death Cab for Cutie, who will presumably deliver a case of the feels.
Riot Fest is holding true to form with its traditionally diverse lineup, where you can jump from ska punks The Specials to rapper Nas to a metal set with The Deftones.
Other highlights include New Jersey post-hardcore punk band Thursday, who announced their reunion performance in August after five years apart, just before heading to Riot Fest.
Punk-tinged rock band Social Distortion will perform “White Light, White Heat, White Trash” for a special 20th anniversary performance on the exact date of the album release in 1996.
And performances by Ween, Jimmy Eat World, NOFX, Bad Religion, Pierce the Veil, Motion City Soundtrack, Method Man & Redman, Dan Deacon, the Meat Puppets and The Hold Steady round out the lineup.
Chicago's local scene is leaving its imprint on the 2016 lineup, with northwest suburban pop-punk Smoking Popes taking the stage, along with performances by reggae rockers Deal's Gone Bad, cardigan rockers The Walters, indie rock's Sleepy Kitty, School of Rock and west-suburban band-on-the-rise Marina City.
“It's an honor to be able to be part of this year's lineup,” said Ryan Argast, lead singer of Marina City. “This has been a fest that all six of us have gone to every year. Since we all have different tastes in music, this fest is the only one that we can all agree to go to. It's so refreshing to have a fest in Chicago that's all about the music we love.”
Tickets are already on sale for the Douglas Park event, with three-day general admission passes starting at $169.98, and VIP passes running $299.98. See riotfest.org for tickets, details and future lineup announcements.