Recap and Photo Gallery Day One (Part One): Riot Fest 2025 at Douglass Park • Chicago

Riot Fest 2025

Douglass Park

Chicago, IL

September 19, 2025

Recap by Jeff Elbel, Gallery by Curt Baran

Chicago’s best music festival for fans of rock and punk roared to life on Friday for the first of three days in Douglass Park. The day belonged to “Weird Al” Yankovic, with a quirky lineup on one of the festival’s five stages that balanced off-kilter and brainy alternative rock. The day was hosted by Downers Grove native and moon-eyed comedian Emo Phillips. The women in Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife kicked off the stage’s music, followed by the bizarre metal of costumed satirists Mac Sabbath. Puddles Pity Party found the towering clown with the golden baritone voice crooning classic rock hit “Crazy Train” in tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne and closing with Celine Dion’s melodramatic “My Heart Will Go On.” Puddles welcomed a guest for a second tribute to Ozzy, when Mac Sabbath singer Ronald Osbourne played cardboard/air guitar during a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” Heady California alt-prog rockers Camper Van Beethoven offered what frontman David Lowery has announced is likely the band’s final performance in Chicago, with plans to retire the geographically challenged band after 40 years in action. Members currently live in Europe, Australia, and scattered locations across the United States.

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael brought the art-pop of Sparks, marking a career that has slowly and steadily grown in acclaim over more than 59 years. The group introduced material that included “Doing Things My Own Way” and “Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab” from the new album MAD! Last up was Yankovic with a set of comical music that featured the accordion-filled “Polkamania!” and Devo-styled pastiche “Dare to be Stupid.” The show was a multimedia extravaganza with film and costume changes for songs, including Michael Jackson’s “Bad” parody “Fat” and Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” parody “Amish Paradise.” The core of Yankovic’s versatile and veteran band featured guitarist Jim “Kimo” West, bassist Stephen Jay, and drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz. The show concluded with Star Wars homages “The Saga Continues” and Kinks parody “Yoda.” Other highlights of the day included reunions of Champaign punks the Didjits, led by Rick Sims, and California indie rockers Rilo Kiley, led by Jenny Lewis. The festival’s namesake Riot Stage concluded with the one-two punch of sets by Alkaline Trio playing their Maybe I’ll Catch Fire album and headliners Blink-182. The Rebel stage hosted Belfast punk band Stiff Little Fingers, and the surviving members of the Pogues performed Rum, Sodomy & the Lash.

 

Category: Featured