I mean if you had told me 2+ years ago MGK would be one of the top 3 daily headliners for this festival I would have callled you crazy so he's a crazy get
Manufacture scarcity to sell the premium tiers as you pointed out below. Wouldn't surprise me. If there is another release of tickets I'm curious as to what they are priced at. I assume MCR alone could do 20-30k passes in Chicago
I made a mock schedule for fun, using 2019's Friday set times: FRIDAY! RIOT 105 135 MEET ME @ THE ALTAR 230 315 LIVING COLOUR 425 525 THRICE 635 735 DINOSAUR JR 830 1000 THE SMASHING PUMPKINS ROOTS 1230 100 RADKEY 140 225 MEG MYERS 320 420 CIRCA SURVIVE 530 630 MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK 740 840 COHEED & CAMBRIA RISE 1200 1225 SENOR KINO 1240 125 BEACH GOONS 220 305 AMIGO THE DEVIL 415 505 FISHBONE 545 645 SUBLIME WITH ROME 715 815 DIRTY HEADS 845 945 LUPE FIASCO RADICALS 1155 1235 GIRLPUPPY 130 215 ANTI-FLAG 310 410 PUP 440 540 THE LAWRENCE ARMS 610 710 CIRCLE JERKS 740 840 NOFX REBEL 1200 1230 OXYMORRONS 100 130 JACKIE HAYES 200 230 KISSISSIPPI 300 330 SERATONES 400 440 NIGHT MOVES 510 550 EYEDRESS 620 700 THE SOUNDS 730 830 BEACH BUNNY ————— SATURDAY! RIOT 105 135 GANSER 230 315 JOYWAVE 425 525 BEST COAST 635 735 VIC MENSA 830 1000 RUN THE JEWELS ROOTS 1230 100 DEVON KAY & THE SOLUTIONS 140 225 MAN ON MAN 320 420 LES SAVY FAV 530 630 GOGOL BORDELLO 740 840 FAITH NO MORE RISE 1200 1225 BEARINGS 1240 125 CITIZEN 220 305 FOUR YEAR STRONG 415 505 STATE CHAMPS 545 645 BAYSIDE 715 815 MAYDAY PARADE 845 945 TAKING BACK SUNDAY RADICALS 1155 1235 JUST FRIENDS 130 215 FUCKED UP 310 410 HEPCAT 440 540 THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES 610 710 RANCID 740 840 DROPKICK MURPHYS REBEL 100 130 SPIDER 200 230 THE ORPHAN THE POET 300 330 THE BOLLWEEVILS 400 440 HOLY FAWN 510 550 THE BRONX 620 700 BIG FREEDIA 730 830 ANDREW WK ——— SUNDAY! RIOT 105 135 THE GORIES 230 315 MOTHER MOTHER 425 525 K. FLAY 635 735 DEVO 830 1000 NINE INCH NAILS ROOTS 1230 100 GYMSHORTS 140 225 THE FEVER 333 320 420 HEALTH 530 630 MR. BUNGLE 740 840 PIXIES RISE 1200 1225 BLACKSTARKIDS 1240 125 KENNYHOOPLA 220 305 3OH!3 415 505 KNUCKLE PUCK 545 645 SIMPLE PLAN 715 815 NEW FOUND GLORY 845 945 MACHINE GUN KELLY RADICALS 1155 1235 AIRSTREAM FUTURES 130 215 SKATING POLLY 310 410 FACS 440 540 THE BLED 610 710 THURSDAY 740 840 THE GHOST INSIDE REBEL 100 130 THE WEAK DAYS 200 230 PET SYMMETRY 300 330 RATBOYS 400 440 BLEACHED 510 550 WHITE LUNG 620 700 ALEX G 730 830 GWAR
This is a really great schedule even though there's definite conflicts on there for me. They changed Gwar to Saturday when they announced the Sunday sell out so you might want to tweak it slightly.
Took my own stab at it and seems like the 3 mock schedules so far agree on many spots. I didn’t focus on times or set lengths, but rather just stage groupings and order. I could def be talked into changes, also this my first time using google sheets on my phone so don’t mind the sloppy parts, haha I am very into the idea on Saturday of gwar directly into big freeida.
A lot of this is really similar to mine! I struggled with the placement of a few bands over the course of the weekend and that's where we really differ. Living Colour, K.Flay, and Motion City Soundtrack were the hardest ones for me to place. Your MCS and Living Colour designation makes way more sense than mine! Your AWK/Best Coast/Fucked Up combo on Saturday is dope as hell. And makes a ton of sense. I really struggled with my Sunday, partially because I just couldn't let go of my assumption that Riot is going to keep all the "sorta hip-hop rock music" on one stage. But structuring it that way left me feeling weird about where I was putting the Ghost Inside and Thursday. So I kinda like yours better. And thinking on it, K.Flay's newer stuff is influenced enough by NIN that I can see that working well. One other thought, though. Any chance you think Airstream Futures or the Weak Days might open up that Radical stage on Sunday, bumping KennyHoopla up to a slightly later slot... With 3OH!3 headlining the Rebel stage? That would beef up that line-up some (which feels pretty week, compared to the other days).
I am really curious if they had lowered capacity. It is just crazy that it is selling this much better than any previous year.
I’m truly wondering if it’s this, or if people are just really enthusiastic to be hitting up shows again, or BOTH
I mean that could be the case, but neither Pitchfork or Lolla sold out like this. I think it is great if they were able to sell out full capacity like this because they have consistently been my favorite Chicago festival by far.
Maybe I'm an optimist, but I feel like come July there will be a small amount of tickets released. I just have a feeling none of the refund requests since MCR dropped have even been processed yet.
Just checked Eventbrite and it looks like Riot completely sold out. No tickets left for any day at any tier. Holy shit.
I'm honestly not sure how to read the situation right now. They may be selling a limited amount of tickets right now that fits within a certain capacity limit (let's say, 75%) knowing they can release more later if they are able to move up to 100% capacity. And not wanting to offer another round of refunds if they need to operate at a reduced capacity. Could just be a bet hedging thing for now, until the ability to operate at full capacity is more set in stone. I'm also wondering if people just aren't putting in for refunds as much as we all assumed they would. For me, if this were the line-up and I didn't already have tickets? I don't know that I'd be throwing down the cash for it. But I paid for everything except my flight over a year ago. I haven't been on a proper trip/vacation or seen any live music in over a year. So my attitude is kinda like, "Fuck it; it's all paid for. Let's do the thing." Even though it doesn't look special seeing a lot of these names on a festival poster at this point, it's still gonna be a blast and I'll get a lot out of seeing them live. And I kinda wonder if more people than anticipated are sticking with this year just because of the circumstances. (Hopefully this made sense. It was difficult to articulate.)
Maybe I missed it before, but this is up on eventbrite: “Entry may be subject to vaccination, testing, masking, or social distancing requirements” Wonder if they’ll go the Lolla route
Do we know that they aren’t operating at full capacity? I mean lolla is so that’s gotta mean riot fest is. Maybe they actually are 100% sold out at full capacity. they have said nothing about it so I’m going off they are selling at full capacity. But the quick sell out makes it seems like they aren’t so I get it from both sides
We aren't. That's just the general assumption for it selling out that people seem to be coming up with. My personal belief is that it's actually 100% sold out at full capacity right now but they may decide to free some up after they process all refunds. I was more just posing a theoretical possibility... But I do also think more passes will free up after they're done processing refunds and know how many tickets are left to sell. The more I look at that line-up too, the more I can see how it could have sold out. Each day has a very solid toplie that can sell anywhere from 3k-5k+ tickets on their own in most cases. And while there's some overlap, there's enough "unique" fans from each headliner that could really drive those numbers up. So when you factor in, say, a "90s alternative rock" fan who might not pay to just see the Pumpkins? Because it's them plus Faith No More and Rancid... They'd be in. That kinda thing. This could very well be their impeccable curation finally getting the recognition it deserves and people being super eager for an event like this. He is the best/worst. Zero fucks to give.