Riot Fest 2021 (September 17-19, Chicago IL) Tour • Page 312

That's as far as I got. You weren't getting closer unless you're pushing through. Crowd was dense from that point to the stage. At least on stage left.

And the crowd stretched out way beyond the soccer field covering. Hard to tell how large without a drone but it was definitely a big crowd.

 

I never actually made it over to the food trucks this year. I never got passed the stage before the soccer field. The new layout and the way the bands were split probably had a lot to do with it.

 

Sunday seemed pretty under attended in general.

 

I'm very curious about attendance numbers this year compared to 2018/2019. Some of the crowds for individual bands seemed enormous, but I felt like I had an easier time getting around the fest in general, which I was mostly attributing to the layout but attendance would definitely be a factor as well.

 

My plan was to check out a little MGK and Slipknot after NFG finished but there was already a noticeable crowd of people leaving and I didn't want to have a terrible train wait. Walking to the train I overheard people saying Slipknot had played the one or two songs they wanted to hear so they left.

 

I swear in past years, or maybe only one year, they had two separate water stations. That would be ideal. Having to walk across the park to get to water, especially if you only have a small window between bands, isn't great.

 

Yeah my group got there around 5:00pm and we could see the overall crowd basically double in size by 7:00.

NFG and Andrew WK had the biggest crowds of the weekend on their stages by a wide margin (even over TBS and Beach Bunny respectively) and both crowds seemed to favor exiting over going to Slipknot/MGK, so that probably influenced the Slipknot crowd size a bit.

The Radical stage has a deceptively big audience area though - to me MGK also felt like he led the stage in terms of crowd size.

 

Simple Plan's crowd was also enormous

 

I don't think they've had a water station on the east side of the park since 2015. At least the line for the one they have moves fast, but I agree there should be another.

 

Honestly I kind of appreciated the placement. The park is small enough that the longest walk from stage->water->stage couldn't have been more than 15 minutes. It would have been tougher if my group of 3 didn't share a backpack for our 1L bottles, but I'm not sure where they even could put more water without really bothering the food & alc vendors.

 

Yeah I got there Sunday around 1pm, and it felt under attended until about 6pm or so when Simple Plan played. That crowd was HUGE for a non main stage. We were standing by the soundboard, and when we tried to leave after I'm Just a Kid it felt like the crowd was never ending.

I thought Slipknot had a pretty large crowd. Keep in mind that main stage crowd is more than double the width of the other stages. Again we were standing next to the back of the sound board and there was still a lot of people behind us, but just not packed in densely.

I think the Pumpkins had the biggest crowd of the weekend.

 

Coheed had a huge crowd which I was not expecting but was cool nontheless

 

also I am still stuffy as shit but I tested negative for COVID so it looks like Riot Flu strikes again

 

3oh3s crowd was massive for 1 pm

 

Me too, I've been sneezing like crazy and now I'm stuffy af. It started immediately after The Bled's set, I could feel all the dirt in the air flying right into me and that's when it's started.

I'm guessing the sudden drop in temperatures isn't helping either.

 

My partner had a minor freak-out this AM about potentially having COVID because she woke up super early today with a cough, stuffiness, etc. I'm pretty stuffy but fine otherwise. Both tested negative.

It was hard to explain to her that festivals can have some pretty aggressive side-effects. Haha.

 

Yeah I woke up sneezing this AM but feel fine now, first cool day of the year which always make me sinuses and allergies go haywire

 

Yeah that was shocking but also a very fun set

 

Got tested the minute I landed back in town and was clean.

 

I did too although I've read it could take 5 days post-infection for it to show up on a test

 

Yeah after a 4-day event, it's definitely best to test twice within the 5-8 days after getting home.

 

Oh def will be going back.

 

oh god i thought it was just me.

 

Yeah my nose is still a bit stuffed up too, but I don’t have any other cold/flu symptoms.

 

My wife had symptoms earlier and we're already scheduled for a test when we get back home, so we did one of those at home tests and she's negative! Riot Flu every year! So we'll do a PCR test when we're back home but all looks well.

Also, wedding pics!
Photos: The 32 Couples Who Got Married at Riot Fest 2021